By Chance or Changing Course
by Arktos
Summary: Roy finally managed to get that break he always wanted, though a trek through a fierce blizzard carrying a feverish, blind Ed wasn’t what he’d had in mind... -Parental!RoyEd- -BASED ON ORIGINAL ANIME-
1. Going and Coming

**Author's Note:** It's hard to find good Parental!RoyEd stories out there. So I thought I'd write one, simple as that :) Warning, Ed's mouth is unsurprising very dirty, and he goes through a bit of a caps lock of rage bout near the end of the chapter! The timeline is set as probably shortly after or before Lab 5, or around there.

**Summary:** Roy finally managed to get that break he always wanted, though a trek through a fierce blizzard carrying a feverish Ed wasn't what he'd had in mind...After a train to northern Amestris derails under suspicious circumstances, Roy Mustang and Edward Elric are forced to rely on each other, just when they realize they're being followed. [Parental!RoyEd. Constructive critism will be worshiped.** Spoilers for Anime and Manga.**]

_Fullmetal Alchemist _and all related **non-original** (as in, not made by myself) subjects © Hiromu Arakawa, V_iz_, etc. I'm only borrowing them for a bit, and intend to return them whole and recognizable- I swear :)

The horribly maimed quote from Sonnet 18 © Shakespeare.

_**By Chance Or Changing Course**_

**Chapter One: Going and Coming**

Roy Mustang had never been able to understand the appeal of train rides. They were bumpy, boring and normally something he tried to avoid. Of course, he liked going new places and seeing new things like most people, but trains were certainly not the way to do that, in his not-so-humble opinion.

And if you added in the fact that he was heading towards a freezing cold backwater city with his most bad-tempered subordinate …well, the higher-ups might want to think about investing in flame-retardant clothing.

"I can't wait to be off this stupid train…two damn hours squashed next to the biggest bastard I know, and Al can't even come." The 'bad-tempered subordinate' murmured resentfully, out cold as he was on the seat across from Roy. Edward Elric was as short as his temper, but Roy had to agree that this was cruel and unusual punishment.

"_We're deploying a team of state alchemists to help control the situation out north. Drachma apparently doesn't value our non-aggression pact, especially with the tempting new trail discovered to cross the Briggs Mountain range. I volunteered you and Fullmetal. I trust you will act on these orders promptly."_

And he'd gritted his teeth and said _"Yes, sir."_ As politely as he could manage. This of course meant that he promptly went off to buy tickets for the next train to North City, which they had naturally missed anyway. It was his job to follow orders, even the ones he certainly didn't want to follow.

_One of these days, I'll be Fuhrer, and __**he'll**__ be the one dragged away from his work with little warning to go on some inane train ride._ Roy thought with irritation, trying to massage away the burning in his eyes.

Secure in the knowledge of his future revenge, he leaned back in the relatively uncomfortable seat, glancing around his surroundings wearily. No one else was in their car besides an old lady, what appeared to be a young girl and her father, and a businessman with his face hidden by the newspaper he was currently reading. Curious…why so few people?

But then, it was the middle of the week and most people were off at work at this time of day. It didn't surprise him that not many other people were riding the rails today.

Roy checked his pocket watch, noting glumly that he still had an hour or two left before they reached their destination. Considering how late he'd had to stay up the night before preparing for this trip, he was almost tempted to fall asleep there and then.

That was, if he hadn't known better. Ed had standards, but Roy certainly didn't trust him not to sneak off, find a marker and scribble a mustache and goatee on him while he slept. He'd been surprisingly cooperative earlier, playing solitaire with a stack of cards he'd produced out of seemingly nowhere and ignoring the colonel completely. But Roy knew better than to expect it to last.

_I can never win, can I?_ He thought wryly, realizing that at this point, the situation couldn't get much worse. To top it all off, he was cold, tired and thoroughly convinced it'd be a long while before he managed to get his lunch.

With no warning at all, the train stopped abruptly, nearly throwing Roy and Ed out of their seats. There was the sound of whining gears, and then a loud rumble that shook the train before silence descended on the car. The businessman and old lady glanced at the exits, confused, while Roy heard the father reassuring his startled daughter in a low voice.

"_We apologize in advance, but it there seems to be a technical difficulty in the fourth car. We hope to get moving soon, and have a nice day."_ The announcement ended with a statically click.

Ed blinked drowsily, still half-asleep despite his rude awakening. "The fourth car…isn't that the one behind ours?"

"Must be some sort of electrical problem. This is an older train after all." Roy replied, unable to shake a sudden strange feeling that it was more than that. Edward shrugged, leaning back and gradually started to doze off again. The colonel was just fighting the temptation to take advantage of this to get retribution for years of pain and torture, when his thoughts were rudely interrupted.

"Hello!" He turned, and found himself looking at a young, four-year-old girl. She was clutching a teddy bear with a missing button eye, sucking her thumb as the hint of a smile graced her face. It was the daughter from before; now looking calmer and much more relaxed.

"Can I help you?" Roy asked bluntly, wondering why she'd suddenly taken an interest in him.

She giggled, and he raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, I've just never seen anyone like Daddy and me before. He said Mommy had to go somewhere a long time ago, but everyone else seems to have a mommy but me."

Roy raised an eyebrow, not too certain how to reply to that. What was she talking about…?

"Mary! I'm sorry about this." At once hands scooped up the little girl, as her father gave him a sheepish look. "She won't bother you and your son again."

"Oh, I'm not his-" But it was too late. The little girl had been soundly herded off, and Roy watched her go with a sort of exasperated curiosity until she noticed him and waved. He looked back out the window quickly, sighing to himself.

_If it isn't Maes trying to matchmake me with someone, it's someone else trying to push me into parenting_…

"Mmm…I didn't set the rug on fire, Mom…the matches just sort of lighted accidentally…" Ed mumbled, talking in his sleep yet again.

Roy's eyebrow twitched, then only outward sign of irritation on his carefully schooled, blank expression._ Good thing I'm not fully responsible for him._

The scenery itself was fairly mundane. Roy assumed they were on some sort of a mountainside, but he could barely make out the valley below through the many trees. He disinterestedly noticed a weathered sign nearby, which read:

**Azeotrope 2 miles**

**North City 15 miles**

Azeotrope…that sounded familiar.

Abruptly the train lurched into motion. Just as Roy resigned himself to the long ride ahead, the bad feeling increased exponentially. It was the sort of intuition learned after never-ending months spent digging trenches and cocking rifles, the instinct war that had taught him to act upon as soon as he felt it. The colonel tensed, feeling an urgent sort of desperation desperately clawing for release.

Ed, having given up on sleeping by this point, noticed. Though he couldn't quite understand why, for once he took pity on the colonel, abruptly sobering. "Hey, Colonel…you okay?"

"There's something wrong…" Roy answered cryptically. Sitting up a bit straighter in his seat, Ed peered over the seat to the front and then the back of the car as well. The teenager sat back down, his tone surly and his earlier sympathy vanishing.

"You're just imagining things."

They didn't even have time to react when the car suddenly jerked, the sound of screeching metal scaring Roy and Ed out of their wits. Cursing, the colonel grabbed Ed by the scuff of his neck just before the car felt over onto its side, narrowly saving the teenager from being thrown against the opposite side of the train.

The glass from the window close by was smashed by the impact, and Ed roughly pulled Roy out of the way of the flying glass. Others weren't so lucky, and the sounds of screams and cries were heard over the sound of the other windows breaking.

"Thanks." Roy croaked, his throat coated with dust. The air was thick with it; he could only just make out Ed's silhouette in the haze. The colonel coughed loudly and with alarming intensity, covering his mouth. Roy was shocked to find blood on his hand when he pulled away, but quickly realized it was from a shallow cut he'd gotten from a flying shard of glass.

"What the hell just happened?!" Ed asked, panicked.

There was a loud groan, and everyone froze. The car tilted just a bit more, and Roy realized with sudden clarity it had been precariously balanced on the edge of the mountainside before as it was, and they were about to fall.

"**BRACE YOURSELVES**!" He yelled, but it was too late.

There was the sounding of grinding metal, and then Roy felt a sense of disconcerting weightlessness as they fell. He hit the side of the train, Ed slamming into him at the same moment. Faster and faster it went; the loud roar of the sliding car as it tore through the surrounding wood drowning out any other sound or thoughts.

Ed had scarcely managed to grab onto something, before he felt suddenly light again. There was a crash, and he was flung to the opposite side of the train. He accidentally slammed into Roy, and born of them were roughly tossed out the now right-side up window.

They landed violently; Roy against a tree, and Ed against a nearby rocky outcropping. Roy wheezed as all the air was knocked out of him, but was more the less unharmed. Ed was much less fortunate. He was thrown against a large boulder, screaming in pain as a bloody gash was gouged out of his side. Mercifully, he lost conscious a few minutes later from a blow to the head.

The mechanisms tying the cars together snapped. The individual cars spun in the air, for a moment airborne again, before landing upside down with a crash. With a groan, they all started to tilt slightly, and then finally settled as they were. But this was about all the wiring could take; the ceiling lights in each car began to spark and crackle, and quite suddenly caught fire. Smoke poured from the few broken windows, as people frantically tried to escape the disaster in the making.

Both of them lay there for a moment, tired and wracked with agony, before Roy unsteadily managed to regain his footing and stumbled over to his subordinate, falling down into the deep snow from sheer exhaustion. His pride virtually shot by this point, he nevertheless struggled to get up again.

"Fullmetal?" He said roughly, his voice cracking from stress and a myriad of other feelings.

The teenager didn't respond immediately, but eventually managed to reply.

"Still…Alive…" Ed's voice sounded higher and hoarser than usual.

Roy felt the ghost of a smile tug at his lips, relieved that the alchemist had managed to survive the fall. "Hurt?"

"Y-yeah…" Ed managed, before whimpering slightly. He tried to block the pain from his mind like he usually did, but his head hurt felt like it was stuffed with cotton. In some ways, it almost felt worse than the pain that inevitably came with automail. At least that rarely lasted very long.

Roy heard more screaming, and blearily looked up. The train was suspended twenty feet or less above them, held in place by the amount of debris that had accumulated around it during its fall. Smoke was rising from it in thick black columns, roaring flames licking hungrily at the sides.

"There are…p-people…still in there…" Ed tried to finish what he was saying, but reluctantly gave up. Talking just hurt too much.

Roy, however, understood immediately. His eyes widened as the reality of the situation asserted itself, and looked up at the burning wreckage above him. There were still people trapped in the train, but the blaze was growing larger at what should have been an impossible rate-

_Gas lighting…the train has __**gas lighting**__…_

"Ed, get down!"

Roy had barely managed to heave himself and his subordinate behind the rock, when the train exploded. Ed caught a glimpse of the bright light, and then yelped and feebly clawed at his eyes when they started to hurt. The noise of the blast was deafening, and huddled close together behind the rock as they possibly could as fire and searing fragments rained down around them. Ed's head started to throb, and then everything faded to black.

---

His side really, **really** hurt. This was something Edward Elric became aware of as he gradually woke up. He opened his eyes, and felt a flash of irritation when he realized everything was pitch black. He must have dosed off again in the middle of researching the philosopher's stone…sleeping in an uncomfortable position again, no doubt, which sort of accounted for the pain.

Then he realized he was sitting next to someone, on a slant and leaning against something very rough. Something wet was flowing down his cheek. He realized it was blood immediately.

_It wasn't a dream…_ He thought dully, wondering for a moment if he was still asleep. Pinching his flesh arm answered that question quickly enough.

Roy was preoccupied with a thousand questions, none of which he had satisfactory answers to. He gazed at the carnage before him half-amazed and half-disbelieving. Trees had been torn from the ground and thrown haphazardly into a large, smoldering pile an astounding distance away.

The ground was completely barren; most of the snow and grass had disappeared in the explosion. Shrapnel littered the ground in generous quantities, including a piece off the engine with the words 'Royal Blue Central Line' barely legible on the side. Small fires were scattered here and there among the remains, burning the few places that had been sheltered from the explosion.

The last time he'd seen such carnage…he'd been back in Ishbal, fighting for his life. And his sanity.

His mouth went completely dry at the thought. Roy slowly stood up, warily peering over the top of the only thing that had stood between them and certain death only moments before. The sight that met his eyes was anything but pretty. The smell of burning flesh was faint, but still lingered notably in the air. Roy could only assume some of the small, burnt piles of ash nearest to the train were corpses.

Roy Mustang had seen a lot of horrible things in his life. He'd been though war, famine, and even worse. He'd thought he'd seen the worst life had to offer. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight that lay before him. Shakily, Roy nevertheless pulled himself up onto the rock and surveyed the full extent of the damage.

Ed felt something move next to him, and jerked when he heard a strangled, choking sound. "What is it? Mustang, is that you?"

The flame alchemist was unable to reply, crouched over a burnt toy he knew instantly was once a toy bear. A toy bear with a missing button eye, to be exact.

Ed, however, would not be deterred from finding out where that sound had come from. He vaguely realized that it had been very close…maybe on top of the boulder he was leaning against? Knowing he didn't have much to lose from trying to find out, he hoisted himself up. Managing to clamber onto it, Edward felt a brief flash of triumph when his searching fingers came into contact with Roy's leg. Feebly, he stood up, teetering a bit as he regained his balance.

"Colonel?" He asked hesitantly.

Roy tried his best to regain his composure, knowing all the while it was ridiculous that he was so broken up. He'd seen it all before, but somehow that knowledge didn't give him any comfort or courage now that he was seeing it again. The war was over, the enemy was beat, so why did something like this happen? How had he become so dammed **sensitive**?

He took a deep breath to calm himself, logic reasserting him. When Roy finally responded, he was unable to keep his tone from wavering slightly. "It's nothing. I just found something that…never mind."

Ed couldn't restrain his curiosity. "What did you find?"

"Just…a toy."

Ed felt a chill go down his spine. "S-so, that's it? Everyone's dead except us?"

Roy flinched, pausing for a moment when he found himself reluctant to answer that particular question. "…Yes, I think so. That train had gas lighting, which was the cause of the…explosion. If it hadn't been for the boulder we're standing on, we would have been incinerated."

They both paused at that unsettling revelation, both of them beyond words. Roy looked up at all that remained of the engine, wondering for a second if someone could have survived the blast. One look at the twisted metal that had once been the passenger cars told him at once. No one else could have, unless they'd ended up the same way as himself and Ed-

_Ed…_

Roy looked quickly at his charge, relaxing when he realized that he had no life-threatening injuries. The teenager had lost his infamous red coat sometime before the explosion; probably when they'd been bodily thrown out one of the windows. He was covered head to foot in dust, blood and soot, and his clothes were ripped in several places. Ed's eyes were unfocused, but the colonel wasn't that surprised considering the situation at hand. In other words, Ed looked pretty much the same as Roy probably did.

It was at this point he noticed the large wound on the teenager's left side. It looked deep and painful, though thankfully not like something that couldn't be healed with time. Still, it would be a good idea to get to the closest town and seek medical treatment for it right away. Infection was the kiss of death out here in the wilds of northern Amestris, especially with winter fast approaching and no real supplies on hand to ward off exposure.

"That cut on your side looks pretty bad." He remarked nonchalantly, trying to muster the nonchalance and self-control a superior officer should have in these circumstances. "We should get that looked at as soon as we can. It's still daylight out, maybe we can follow the tracks-"

"Wait, daylight?" Ed interrupted, looking annoyed. "If that's your idea of a joke, it's not funny."

Roy glanced back angrily. "What are you talking about? Do you think I would be joking right now?"

"It's pitch black," Ed replied testily. "How the hell could it be daylight if…"

The teenager trailed off, a sick feeling churning in the pit of his stomach. His mind told him that of course it was the middle of the night; why else couldn't he see his hand in front of his face? The train wreck had probably taken place earlier in the day, and he'd just been so weak from blood loss and adrenaline that he'd passed out. But then why the hell would Mustang bother denying something so obvious?

"Oh, I get it." Ed said smugly, unable to see the irritated and confused expression on Mustang's face. "You're trying to get me to think I'm blind."

"Ed, I don't think you-"

Ed laughed. "Nice try Mustang, you'll have to think of something better than that."

Roy sighed. "Ed…do you read the 'Central Times'?"

"…Yeah, of course I do."

"Do you remember what they had listed in the back?"

"Something about an uprising in the north?"

"No, about the full moon tonight."

That gave Ed pause. "…So? It's probably cloudy out."

Roy sighed, and then suddenly realized a way he could convince his subordinate once and for all. Wordlessly, he handed Ed one of his gloves. Ed gave him an uncomprehending look.

"That's one of my gloves. You can feel the transmutation circle sewn into it, right? I'm going to put it on right now, and if you can't see any sparks when I snap my fingers, we'll find out if you really are blind, alright?"

Ed scowled, but nodded and handed back the glove, obviously thinking the whole idea was stupid. Roy carefully put on the glove he'd handed Ed, and then snapped his fingers. There was a sound like a soft bang, and a tongue of flame appeared in the air between them. It floated there for a second, and then disappeared.

Ed's pupils didn't dilate, despite the bright light. Despite the fact that they **should** have. But he didn't even focus on Roy, seemingly staring into space.

"So, where is it?"

….Oh hell, this wasn't something he wanted to explain. Nevertheless, Roy assumed a professional tone.

"I already snapped my fingers, Fullmetal. If you didn't see anything, that's because you're blind."

Ed grit his teeth, his eyes narrowing. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not." Roy said simply.

He sounded so truthful…and then the next moment Ed started shaking. He stepped back only to have his foot meet empty air, and realized in that split second that that had been an extremely stupid thing to do. The colonel attempted to grab his arm, but not even Roy's quick reflexes could save him.

Ed slammed into ground, barely managing hold back a shout as a piece of shrapnel dug into his wounded side. Roy swore and jumped lightly off the rock, pulling the whimpering teenager up and immediately checking the damage done.

"Be more careful!" Roy said harshly, his heart racing. His anger vanished at Ed's next words.

"…I'm blind?"

There was a suddenly uncomfortable silence. There was so much desperation and bewilderment in his voice; as if he wanted Roy to tell him this was all a sick prank and he really had him going there, didn't he? Ed waited anxiously, but no such confession ever came. His anger conflicted with fear and countless other emotions, before finally causing the teenager to lose control.

"DAMMIT, I'M NOT BLIND! I CAN'T BE BLIND!"

But his scream didn't do any good, and both of them knew it. And though Ed tried furiously to blink and wipe them away, tears came to his eyes and started streaming down his face. And then he was all out crying, sobbing and all the while hating himself for doing it. His knees gave out on his, and he doubled over, sinking to the ground.

"I'm not blind, I'm not blind…" It became a sort of mantra, and Ed just couldn't stop repeating it. He…he couldn't afford to be blind…he hadn't been blind a moment ago, why was he now and he had so much left to do oh god not now not to me-

Roy sat down heavily, unable to suppress a flicker of remorse If he'd never told Ed, he just could have pretended everything was fine and it really was the middle of the night. His logical side immediately told him that wouldn't have made any difference, but still, he couldn't help but dwell on the thought.

And so Roy uncomfortably looked away, trying to pretend he wasn't seeing Ed breaking down in front of him. Gradually however the sobs died down, until all he could hear was a few miserable hiccups and the occasional sob. After a minute, Ed finally managed to stand up, staggering as he did so.

"H-how am I supposed to research the p-philosopher's stone if I can't read? Or write? Or draw a transmutation circle?" Ed said miserably, with an expression that was dangerously close to self-pity.

Roy didn't reply, knowing full well that the questions were rhetorical and Ed had probably forgotten he was there. No doubt he was still reeling from the shock of the train wreck, which partially explained his strange behaviour. Finding out he was blind…well, Roy understood all to well why it was affecting him so deeply. This hadn't been the first time he'd known someone who was blinded by accident, after all.

"I keep trying to find it…but it's been so long. How much more can I afford to lose to find it? What else **can** I lose, besides Al? How the hell can I lose so much, and gain so little?!"

Something about his voice unnerved Roy, and for a moment he couldn't quite understand why. Then he realized it was the all too apparent undercurrent of loathing; towards what, the colonel couldn't say. He had the feeling it wasn't addressed to anything or anyone in particular.

Roy knew he should stay quiet and let Ed get it out of his system, but something told him that if Ed was allowed to go on much longer, it might not be entirely healthy for him. And so he did the first thing that came to mind; steeling himself, Roy got up and slapped Ed as hard as he could.

"Knock it off, Fullmetal. We have bigger things to worry about." Roy said firmly, though no words were necessary. He was satisfied when Ed's expression quickly changed from vulnerable and depressed to angry and vindictive. If Ed had to pick someone to blame, better Roy instead of himself.

"You bastard…you were there the whole time, weren't you? You didn't feel like doing anything except letting me go on, just like how you didn't bother to help those people on the train!"

Roy distantly realized he should have known this would happen beforehand. This wasn't the plan. The plan was to snap him out of it, not to provoke him.

Nevertheless, Roy managed to keep his voice monotone. A remarkable achievement, considering. "I couldn't do anything. It happened too quickly. You're an alchemist too, you could have done something-"

"YOU LIVED THROUGH A DAMN WAR! YOU'RE **USED** TO THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPENING! THE ENEMY NEVER KNOCKS ON YOUR DOOR AND SAYS 'HEY, I'M GOING TO ATTACK YOU NOW'! IT'S YOUR DAMN FAULT SO MANY PEOPLE DIED! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!"

Ed threw himself in Mustang's general direction, intending on punching him out or at least causing as much pain as he could, but missed by a mile. He felt a hand grab his arm and roughly push Ed down, his arms pinned behind his back as he landed face-first in the mixture of ash and dirt on the ground.

"**You don't have a clue what war is about. Don't pretend you do.**" Roy's tone was dangerously calm, and Ed felt a glimmer of panic. He was blind, helpless and weak from blood loss at the moment, while Roy was in better condition. If he'd pushed the colonel enough, who knew what he might do. After a moment, however, the arms let go and the heavy weight pinning him to ground disappeared.

There was complete silence. Ed wondered now that he'd gone too far, but his pride naturally prevented him from taking it back and apologizing. He shivered as a cold breeze blew past, noting that his coat had been torn off. He wouldn't normally be this cold. Probably another thing he could thank the train accident for.

But the silence stretched on, until he heard the one thing he'd hoped he wouldn't hear: footsteps. Roy was walking away. And then he couldn't hear anything.

Finally, Ed couldn't take it anymore. "Wait, Roy, I-"

His apology was muffled by something…soft, which had flung out of nowhere and hit him straight in the face. Pulling it off, he realized from the feel of it that it was a coat of some sort, covered in cord and buttons. Wait…was it Roy's military coat?

The footsteps came closer now, until Ed could hear them less than a metre away. There was a sigh, and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll have to climb up to the tracks. We can follow them into the next town…I saw a sign a few leagues back. There's one only two miles away. I'll carry you."

"What?" Ed asked, confused.

"I'm sorry; I had to…get something."

Ed raised an eyebrow, and then remembered. He lowered his eyes. "Oh, the toy …right?"

"Yes." Roy replied quietly. "I just wanted to give it back to the little girl it belonged to."

Ed didn't have a suitable reply to that, looking away momentarily. "Why are you offering to help me, and why did you give me this?" He held up the coat.

"Because I don't leave people behind to freeze to death, and you were shivering." Roy replied simply. Unbidden, something Havoc had once said to him floated to the front of his mind

"_If that were the only thing about him, we wouldn't follow him."_

Roy continued on. "There's just one condition. Neither of us did anything a few moments ago we'd regret telling anyone else, okay?"

"You're trying to manipulate things to your advantage again, aren't you?" Ed answered frankly, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. Surprisingly, Roy laughed.

"Ed, I'm not omnipotent. You seriously think I could turn a disaster like this into a promotion? I'd rather not die from exposure, thanks."

Ed mulled that over for a few minutes. "…No, I guess not." He reluctantly agreed. "But you're not carrying me up there; I can make it by myself."

"With that wound? I somehow doubt that." They both noted that he didn't mention Ed's blindness.

"…Fine." Under normal circumstances, Ed would never agree to something like this. But slipping and sliding down the mountainside didn't sound like an ideal way to spend an afternoon.

"Just remember to hold on tight…but not too tight." Ed felt himself being picked up, and tried his best to get a good grip when he felt Roy's shoulders underneath his hands. When Ed finally felt secure enough and certain he wouldn't fall off, Roy started up the mountain, carefully searching for handholds.

"…This is embarrassing." Ed murmured. "If you tell anyone else about this, I'll kick your ass."

"I'm not keen on the idea myself. And I hate to give you false hope…" Roy hesitated briefly here, his normal smug tone vanishing with his next words. "…but your blindness may not be permanent."

Ed didn't dare let himself hope. "Are you sure?"

"We'll know for sure in a week."

"A week, huh? I could live with that."

And so, filled with hope, they both set out to conquer the mountainside before them…although it was mostly Roy who was doing the conquering at that point.

---

Well, that's the first chapter down. Exhausting to write, and even more exhausting to go over, but it was worth it. Hope you guys like it, and please review if you can! :)


	2. Of Days Long Past

**Author's Note:** Wow, I can't believe that I got fourteen reviews for the first chapter alone! I didn't expect nearly that much!...Too bad I don't have time to send replies yet, that'll have to wait for Christmas. :( I'm swamped with work, and I was lucky with getting this chapter out.

As it stands, I'm going to try to continue this sporadically. Updates for this probably won't come as quickly as my other fanfics, but it probably won't be any more than a month or two in between.

One of the reviewers brought up a good point about covering Ed's eyes to protect them, which fits since they weren't going to just walk to Azeotrope without some sort of patch-up job. They'd die from blood loss if they didn't get one, and I'm afraid that would cut the story rather short :)

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Two: Of Days Long Past**

Roy tried to lift himself onto the flat gravel bed the railway tracks rested on, a task made difficult by both the gravel itself (which constantly shifted with every movement he made) and the fact he was carrying a half-dazed teenager. Despite the fact the colonel had often teased said teenager about his size, he weighed a ton. Roy suspected it had something to do with his automail, but didn't give the thought much consideration. Reaching the top of the mountainside took precedence.

But Roy had been struggling for three quarters of an hour, stopping only occasionally to rest. At this rate, he wouldn't last much longer. His arms and legs ached and his lungs and throat were burning. Even Ed's arms had loosened slightly, the blonde alchemist having come dangerously close to falling off at one point from sheer fatigue. He'd awkwardly put on Roy's jacket halfway up the mountain, however, keeping an iron grip on it the whole time. Losing it might make the difference between living or dying out here, and he was freezing.

With a satisfying feeling of triumph, Roy finally managed to grab the steel rails and pull himself up. Quickly moving forward, he collapsed when he'd finally gotten far enough from the edge.

"So…we made it." Ed sighed wearily, breaking the silence that had lasted for the past half hour. He let go of Roy's shoulders and slid off Roy's back, before stumbling and falling over onto his stomach. The teenager was too tired to even bother mustering the strength to push himself up.

Relieved of his burden and now able to breathe properly, Roy Mustang nodded, panting with exertion and temporarily forgetting Ed couldn't see the small gesture. They lay there for a moment in sweaty silence, amazed they had actually made it to their destination but, of course, neither daring to admit it.

"I noticed that the train we were on had 'Royal Blue Central Line' printed on the engine." Roy stated, phrasing it as casually as though he was talking about something as mundane as the weather.

Ed frowned, his chin propped up on his loosely crossed arms. The effect was ruined somewhat by his wayward line of vision, which failed to focus on Roy. "I thought that old railway went out of business years ago when the Main Central Steam Railway took over…"

"Apparently, somebody couldn't be bothered to replace a perfectly sound working part of our heritage." Roy replied dryly. "That engine was at least twenty years old. The passenger cars were probably older."

"No wonder." Ed didn't bother to elaborate on that any further. He didn't need to.

Roy attempted to push himself up, scrutinizing the railway tracks. He couldn't see any abrasions or breaks in the rails, not that he was an expert on trains and train accidents. Any number of things could have caused the derailment.

It was at that moment that he started to think beyond the situation at hand. How could they walk two miles to the nearest town without any bandages or decently warm clothes? Their suitcases were gone now, most certainly lost in the explosion. He seriously doubted there were even ashes left by now.

Then an idea occurred to Roy. "Fullmetal, do you think you could transmute some bandages?"

Ed blinked. "Transmute bandages?"

"I can use the trees…preferably any that were caught but not completely incinerated in the explosion. There are plenty of dead ones around here we could use." Roy explained in clipped tones, running through their list of options.

Transmutations carried out without being able to see what you were transmuting were dangerous; alchemists prized their ability to measure and calculate the mass of an object through sight and knowledge of the basic chemical makeup alone. They weren't unknown, but still risky if you didn't know the proper transmutation circle to use. Hopefully, Ed would be able to bypass that obstacle.

To his relief, Ed nodded jerkily after a short period of contemplative silence. "Fine, I'll do it."

With bandages firmly on the top of his priority list, Roy begin to consider how to guide Ed to the nearest fallen tree, which was about four metres away. Roy hadn't practiced any other type of alchemy besides his signature fire techniques for a long time, a result of years spent perfecting said technique and eschewing all others in favour of it.

He briefly toyed with the amusing thought that his office was now so stuffed with files and other junk there wasn't even room to breathe, but quickly dismissed the thought when he remembered they had more important things to worry about.

In any case, it would probably take Roy twenty minutes or so to figure it out, not including sketching the transmutation circle. Ed obviously wouldn't be pleased if Roy simply dragged him towards them, but the colonel couldn't think of any quicker way. They didn't have twenty minutes to waste. Wordlessly, he grabbed one of Ed's hands and guided him in the direction of a nearby pile of logs, snatching him just in time before he slipped.

The teenager was, as Roy had assumed, not happy with his idea. "Hey! What are you doing! Let go!"

Roy complied immediately, releasing him quickly. They were close enough anyway, and he knew better than to push his luck. Not that he wanted to; cooperation was essential at this point. "There's a pile of wood in front of you, about a metre away. Four pine trees, about eleven feet high and a quarter of a metre thick. Do you think you can transmute them?"

Ed's expression changed from annoyed to resigned. "…I guess. How many braches?"

Roy snapped his fingers, and the resulting blast nearly gave Ed a heart attack. "None now."

"A-Alright, I can work with that." Ed said, his heart beating wildly and his tone strained. The teenager quickly tried to regain an air of professionalism, his voice steady when he next spoke. "How much do you need?"

"As much as you can transmute." Roy answered bluntly. He only had a few scrapes here and there and a deep gash on his left arm, but Ed looked like he needed a good yard or so just for the wound on his side.

Clapping his hands together, Ed cautiously moved forward and crouched down, wincing slightly when his wound protested at the simple movement. Feeling the rough bark of the trees with his flesh hand, there was a bright flash of blue light and a decent stack of bandages lay before them.

The next fifteen minutes or so were spent trying to pin Ed down and remove his shirt, so Roy could properly bandage his wounds. For the first time since the colonel had realized Ed was blind, he was thankful Ed couldn't see. It made it easier to avoid his kicks and punches.

"I don't need any! I'm just fine!"

"You've got a **hole** in your side, you can't just brush that off. What if it gets infected?"

"I can bandage myself then!"

Roy lost his control there and then, his nerves having stretched to the breaking point.

"You can't even see the damn bandages!" He snapped.

And so it went on and on, until Roy had finally won the battle and then quickly bandaged himself. Ed was sulking, but the colonel was in too irritable a mood to pay attention to his temper tantrums. Eventually though, Ed sighed and lay back against a nearby tree, which Roy assumed meant he was forgiven. In typical fashion, he immediately tested this theory.

"Fullmetal?"

Another sigh. "Yeah?"

"Don't be alarmed, but if your eyes do eventually heal, I need to cover them to protect them from the elements. Especially since exposure to light can effect the healing process. Hand me my coat back for a second."

"Your coat?" Ed replied skeptically. He didn't quite know if he believed Mustang's excuse, but nevertheless handed it over. He didn't have much to lose anyway considering it wasn't even his, and if Mustang was telling the truth it was worth a shot.

There was a tearing sound, which surprised Ed. Did Roy Mustang, grade-A manipulative bastard of the military, just rip apart his own coat for bandages? The teenager got his answer when he felt hands tying some sort of cloth around his head, closing his eyes quickly and tersely allowing the colonel to continue. Roy fumbled with the knot for a few minutes, since his fingers were a bit numb, but nonetheless tied it firmly.

Meanwhile, Ed's mind was a confused jumble. Roy had always prided himself on keeping his uniform neat and well-kept, the godforsaken suck-up he was. He wouldn't sacrifice it without good reason, not when it violated regulations. The fact he was willing to go so far showed what he'd said carried some weight, and he wasn't just playing tricks. Actually, the fact that Mustang had thought of it showed he cared, just a bit.

_A blind state alchemist is less useful than a seeing one._ Ed reminded himself bitterly, though still feeling a bit more benevolent towards the colonel.

Roy, however, was still preoccupied with judging their chances at succeeding. The great expanse of track that lay before them was slightly intimidating, and the words he'd seen printed on the railway sign drifted through his mind. He immediately started to plan a suitable course of action, keeping in mind their current condition. Ed sensed that he was mulling over something important and didn't interrupt him. Roy was mutely grateful.

_North City is fifteen miles away…but Azeotrope is only two miles away. We could get there before nightfall, but why does that name sounds vaguely familiar…_

"The nearest town is Azeotrope. We should be able to make it, if we hurry." Roy finally said.

Ed nodded automatically, rising on unsteady legs and miraculously managing to keep his balance. Roy also stood up, though with much less difficulty than his fellow state alchemist, surveying the tracks ahead of them with grim acceptance.

"So, I guess we just keep following the tracks until we get there?" Ed asked, some of his characteristic cockiness returning. He could do this, as long as he kept himself from punching out Mustang.

Well…okay, so maybe it wasn't a piece of cake. But as long as the colonel didn't piss him off too much, he could wait until they got back to Central to pay him back. A grin managed to sneak into his confident expression.

Roy sighed and massaged his forehead. "No, Ed. Let's climb **back down the hill** and try to fight our way through impenetrable forest. That's obviously the better course of action."

Ed growled, bristling at his superior's purposely patronizing tone, any good feeling towards him vanishing immediately. "Oh, and I suppose you have a better idea?"

Roy smiled somewhat playfully. "A variation, you could say."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised."

"It's quite simple really." Roy went on, heedless of Ed's sour expression. "You follow, I lead you."

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to trust you not to steer me into a tree?"

"Better a tree than off another cliff." Roy pointed out. Ed sighed; as much as he would have loved to break his earlier vow against punching Roy out…the jerk had a point.

And then abruptly, Ed switched topics. "What do you get out of helping me? Why the hell am I supposed to trust you?"

"Because, like it or not Fullmetal, we're stuck in this hell together." Roy replied levelly.

Ed raised an eyebrow at that, the beginnings of a sardonic smile tugging at his lips. "Sorry, need a better reason than that."

Roy threw up his hands in annoyance. "Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"I'm not just going to trust you not to screw me over in the end because you say 'oh, sure, I'll help you! I'm actually a good person, just misunderstood!'. Give me one example in the past where you've actually helped me when you didn't have something to gain!"

Roy sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "Alright then, name one time I actually went out of my way to make things miserable for you."

"That hostage-taking situation with that terrorist Bald?"

"If you hadn't taken that train and stopped him, Amestris would have lost one of its best generals. The higher-ups wouldn't have given you the time of day."

"I cleaned up your mess!"

"But no one was seriously hurt…well, besides Bald, I suppose. I made things easier for both of us in the long run."

Ed snorted. "Okay, fine, I can play your game. What about Shou Tucker?"

"Did you really expect me to be able to tell that man apart from a hole in the wall? I only knew of him, we weren't acquaintances." Well, Ed didn't need to know how Roy 'knew of him'…

"You made me categorize his research!"

"And I'm sure, especially since you passed out after seeing one of the bodies, you would have preferred helping with the murder investigation then? I had to have you do something, otherwise people would start to question why such a supposedly talented alchemist, and the last known witness to his crimes wasn't being utilized."

"Well, I ended up helping out anyway, didn't I?"

"That wasn't my fault."

There was a short, grudging pause. Ed had to admit he had another point there.

"Alright, Psiren?"

"Oh come on, Ed, surely you can do better than that. If anything, I'm surprised she didn't sue you for sexual harassment."

Ed blushed, and tried to pretend he didn't hear that. He opened his mouth to find another good counter Roy's arguments…before Ed realized he didn't have one.

"…I know there must be **something**…" The teenager said defensively.

Roy sighed again. "Well, I'm sure you'll have a lot of time to think about it on our way to Azeotrope."

"Oh no, not that again! For the last time, I'm not- mmph!" Roy didn't bother to let him finish, roughly picking Ed up and hoisted him over his shoulder. Setting off in the direction of Azeotrope, the colonel started whistling a tune to drown out the many unflattering and colourful names Ed called him. Boy, did that kid have a vocabulary.

--

Forty minutes and roughly a mile later, both of them were cranky and tired. Roy's shoulders had started to hurt, so he'd switched to carrying Ed piggy-back style. Not that it had made any difference in the long run. Roy's back and arms ached fiercely, and his legs were both sore and freezing cold from trudging through the snow. The colonel was just surprised his unwilling passenger hadn't even protested, although he'd probably used up his energy earlier cursing and flailing like a madman. Said teenager was currently slumped against Roy, his head resting on Roy's shoulder.

Now that they were away from the site of the explosion, the snow was thick and deep. Looking down at where his formerly pristine boots were, buried under a ton of snow as it was, Roy had the sneaking suspicion his feet would soon start to develop the beginnings of frostbite. If they didn't reach the town, and warmth, soon...

And then something strange entered his field of vision. Blinking, he carefully free one of his arms while shifting to the side so his weight was balanced, so Ed wouldn't fall off. Cautiously, he crouched down and picked it up. It was larger than he had expected, about the size of a large dinner plate. Shaking the snow off it, he inspected the rusted piece of metal closer. It had obviously been part of a sign, and a few letters were barely visible near one edge:

**Wel**

**Azeo**

**Popu**

Ed lifted his head when he noticed Roy had stopped, and let out a yelp when he suddenly felt him bend. His curiosity quickly overpowered his annoyance, and he couldn't hold back a question. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Roy frowned, standing up again and looking around. The tall, bare trees stood to the side of the tracks like soldiers lined up in a row, the wind swiping stray snowflakes off the laden branches up into the dull grey sky. Nothing unusual, just a typical Northern day.

However, his efforts were met with success. A weathered post stood nearby, the telltale scuff marks and crooked piece of metal nailed to it immediately confirming his suspicions. Walking up to it, he held the part he'd found up against the rest and read the resulting sentence aloud for Ed's benefit.

"It's part of one of those welcome signs…it says 'Welcome to Azeotrope, population…" There was a four digit number that had been crossed out, with scarcely legible words scribbled next to it. "…one dead horse."

Ed couldn't hold back a sardonic grin. "Cute. Real cute."

"That's what it says. It looks like someone came along and wrote over the actual number, I guess. The sign looks pretty neglected, I can hardly read it. Wait…"

"What?" Ed asked, his creeping boredom once again giving way to interest.

Roy could only stare, rubbing his eyes with his freed hand before squinting and leaning closer. After a moment, he concluded he wasn't seeing things. The corners of his mouth turned up in a bitter smile. **Now** he remembered why the name Azeotrope had sounded so familiar.

"'Azeotrope' must be the new name for New Red Point. That was an older name for the town, I believe." Roy sounded grim, and Ed waited for clarification. After a moment of silence, he finally had to ask.

"…What's so significant about that?"

Roy sighed, the misty nostalgia disappearing. "Nothing, really. It was my home town."

If Ed had been able to see, he would have done a double take. As it was, it was difficult to picture Roy living the life of a civilian. "Your home town?"

"Yeah," Roy said, his eyes narrowing at the tracks ahead and his tone harsh. "Lovely neighbourhood, great place to grow up. It got the name 'New Red Point' thanks to a local legend. Everyone said the higher-ups in Central had a map they put markers on to keep track of the areas with the most criminal activity. Only one town would get the red marker; that town was considered the worst of the worst."

Ed frowned. This was news to him. "You grew up in that?"

"My family had been here since the town was founded." Roy answered, sounding even more displeased. "This wasn't always such a bad place to live. But the gold rush drew all sorts of…shall we say, undesirable characters. After the fire, I just didn't have a reason to stay anymore."

"Fire?"

"I don't want to talk about it. All you need to know is that my parents died in it, and I left shortly afterwards. That's all." Roy's response was so filled with venom, Ed nervously bit back a sarcastic retort and listened.

Roy normally wasn't this talkative…what had brought this on? "Why are you telling me this? That's not your style. Whatever happened to leaving me in the dark until the last minute?"

Roy shrugged. "It's better if you know. I made a lot of enemies here…and did a lot of things I'm not proud of."

Ed felt a chill run down his spine. If Roy was worried enough to start giving him this much information, they were really in trouble. "You're saying we might run into a few people who have something to hold against you?"

Roy didn't answer, but Ed knew that was a definite 'yes' anyways.

"Is that all you can tell me?" Ed asked warily. He had a feeling there was more to Roy's story than that.

The colonel shrugged. "Well, it's all you need to know."

Typical answer. Ed mulled that over for a few minutes, before deciding he might as well leave it at that. He might regret it later on, but Mustang's tone had sounded final, and Ed wasn't up to fighting him at the moment. Maybe later. At least his side didn't hurt as much anymore, though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

Roy stubbornly slogged through the snow, feeling vaguely satisfied by the fact they were actually covering ground now. If he remembered correctly, his town was around the next bend. Would any of his friends or family (or at least, the few friends and family he was left with) still be there? His personal life before Ishbal was something he didn't like to dwell on much, and he hadn't thought about it for years, but it would still be nice to see them if someone hadn't desecrated the graves.

_I probably told him too much._ Roy thought to himself. But what was done, was done. He just hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt him later on.

Eventually, they reached a bend. Once they were past it, Roy knew they'd be at the town. It was about time; he was freezing, both from the cold and the uncomfortable automail digging into his shoulders. The colonel glanced back at the tired teenager, unsurprised that the kid had fallen asleep, exhausted from the events of the past few hours.

Roy looked back at the tracks before him, eyes narrowing as he realized the wind was more insistent now. He could barely see the curve through the falling snow, which stung his eyes and clung to his clothes and skin. The weather was getting rougher, and it would only get worse in a short amount of time; it had always been that way.

Well, it was now or never. Ever so slowly, Roy rounded the bend, his stumbling feet threatening to trip him as he did. He stopped, beyond words as he stared at the sight before him.

Ed felt Mustang tense and stop feeling frustrated with his blindness. He couldn't see what Mustang was looking at, and he had to trust that Mustang would not only describe it or him but tell the truth. "What is it? Have we reached Azeotrope?"

"It's a ghost town."

--

Riza Hawkeye was a rather practical person. She had to be, in her line of work. To be part of the military, a soldier had to have discipline, a rational mind frame and decent self-defense skills. This was something she knew very well. But Riza wasn't simply interested in being 'part of the military' alone. In order to help Mustang to reach the coveted position of Fuhrer, she had to have all those skills and more. Patience had never been the first lieutenant's specialty, but she had been willing to learn it. Riza didn't have any other choice.

Which is why the rest of Mustang's unit was baffled by her strange behaviour. Riza had never been a warm, charismatic person to begin with, but she had been acting colder since Roy had left earlier that the morning. Even Fuery had taken it upon himself to tease her that she missed Mustang, although the look she'd given him could have curdled milk.

"Something's wrong." She had said, going back to relentlessly pacing the office in an uncharactistic show of anxiety. Havoc, Fuery, Falman and Breda simply watched her, wondering whether or not being shot on the spot for asking her what was the matter was really worth it.

"Why do you figure that?" Breda asked, his sense of self-preservation temporarily forgotten in the face of her apparent worry. "He's only been gone a few hours."

"Do you mean because he forgot his pocket watch?" Havoc asked, gesturing towards her desk, where said pocket watch lay. "The colonel's always doing that. We can mail it to him."

"He mentioned that the Fuhrer had talked about him and Fullmetal heading up north to combat that incident near North City-" Falman started.

"That armed robbery was weeks ago. Northern command should have had no difficulty mustering enough forces to scour the city for the ones responsible." Hawkeye had replied curtly. "The situation certainly did not call for two state alchemists, one of which had already been assigned and was currently working on a mission."

Havoc shrugged. "You never know, those northerners have always been a bit bizarre."

"It does seem odd," Fuery admitted, "but I don't think you should worry about it. Maybe the mission was top-secret, and Mustang couldn't tell us the truth or something."

"I usually know when he's lying, and he was telling the truth." Hawkeye replied, annoyed. They had to concede that point; Mustang really was a terrible liar. At least, when it came to lying to his crew.

"…Maybe they couldn't tell him?" Falman offered lamely, shrugging when he realized that probably wasn't the case. No matter how much the military tried to keep things quiet, refusing to tell their state alchemists about the mission they were supposed to perform wasn't a good idea.

Surprisingly, Riza nodded. "Perhaps, but I have a feeling there was more behind it…"

"We could find out which hotel he's checked in." Havoc offered. "And I can dig up a list of his most recent phone calls from work and home. Hey, it's a starting point."

"Or we could ask Hughes," Fuery suggested, with noticeable reluctantance. "He always seems to know where Mustang is."

That idea was silently and unanimously discarded. No one wanted to get within twenty feet of Hughes and his notorious pictures, this soon after Elicia's birthday.

Breda sighed. "So it's settled, we find a record of his phone calls and phone every hotel on the list."

"Uh, guys, don't we have to work?" Fuery reminded, gesturing towards the mountain of paperwork piled up in a corner.

Havoc grinned. "Nah, this sounds like more fun. We can save the paperwork for later."

Surprisingly, Riza didn't get a chance to do more than glare at him disapprovingly him for that remark. Because at that very moment, there was a knock on door to the office.

"Umm…can I come in?" The five exchanged looks, recognizing that voice immediately. But what was Alphonse Elric doing at Central? He usually followed Ed on his missions; why was this one any different?

"Come in." Riza called, and the door opened immediately. The large suit of armor tentively walked into the room, politely bowing his head.

"Umm…I just came here for brother's pocket watch. I'm sure you know he left for North City with Mr. Mustang, and Mr. Hughes said he knew someone who would pass it along. Do you know where it is?"

All five blinked, and Riza's eyes strayed to her desk. Apparently, she'd assumed wrong when she'd thought it was Roy's. They must have left shortly after their meeting earlier that morning, to be in so much of a hurry to forget something like that. Fullmetal didn't usually lose things like that very often…a direct contrast to Roy. The only thing he never seemed to overlook was his uniform and his ignition gloves. That in mind, the first lieutenant quickly decided what needed to be done.

"Alphonse, I'm planning on taking a trip to North City myself. Would you like to come with me?" The other members of Roy's crew looked at Riza in surprise. Since when was she going anywhere?

"This is news" Havoc commented, absent-mindedly lighting a new cigarette. "I thought you were going to stay here and help us find Roy the old-fashioned way. Guess you must be pretty anxious, to do something this rash."

"There's something about this that definitely doesn't feel right." Riza answered simply. "I'm getting to the bottom of it if I have to travel all the way to Xing. But if I find you've slacked off while I'm gone, the consequences won't be pleasant."

And indeed they could believe that. All too well, if she could judge by their nearly identical expressions of horror.

"Well, Alphonse?" She asked, turning to the younger Elric with an almost imperceptible smile.

He nodded hesitantly. "Sure, I wanted to see brother again anyway. But if you don't mind me asking, what did you mean something about this doesn't feel right?"

"I'll explain on the way." She replied. "In the meantime, Fuery, I'm entrusting you with Black Hayate. Havoc, you will have to take care of my paperwork. Falman, you will have to take care of the colonel's paperwork. And Breda?"

"Yes?" He asked fearfully.

She smiled. "You will have to take care of the high-ups. I'm sure they'll want an explanation for all this."

--

I know most of you must be wondering why I went into Roy's past. To be honest, there are a couple of reasons. First, Roy's past before Ishbal is rarely touched on in the anime (and even the manga, to some extent). Second, because it adds more depth to the story (yes, I admit it). Third, because judging by a few remarks made in the series, Roy was rather idealistic before Ishbal.

There could be many reasons for this; he could have been just a bit naive before Ishbal, he had grand dreams because of a rather typical upbringing, or he saw some horrible things first hand and wanted to find a way to make a difference in the world. I settled for sort of a tie between the last two, because Roy would have been born in 1887, while the gold rush in this story started in 1899 (and yes, I incorporated what I knew about the Klondike gold rush for that). I kind of grew up in a bit of an iffy neighbourhood myself, so it makes it a bit easier to write :)

…Which means I'll probably end up inserting a joke or two about my nationality. Sorry, I'll try to keep 'em down to a minimum!


	3. The Angel’s Advocate

**Author's Note:** Well, here's yet another chapter, this time written in the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't sleep. I'm amazed at how much positive feedback this fic is getting…I never realized there were so many fans of Parental!RoyEd. Oh, and Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all you reviewers/readers! :)

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Three: The Angel's Advocate**

Roy Mustang had definitely not expected this. Things had been admittedly tough when he'd left his home town to pursue a military job and forget, but he'd never anticipated the place being abandoned. It was peculiar, looking at the dilapidated stores and empty streets, all the time trying to reconcile them with the bustle and liveliness of the town he remembered.

"It's that bad?" Said a voice, startling him from him thoughts. Roy looked over him shoulder, seeing a curiously subdued Edward Elric.

"Yeah," He said roughly, his emotions for once getting the better of him. "It's…pretty awful. Looks like it's completely deserted, and has been for some time. Probably for the better, because I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten a warm welcome anyway."

Ed voiced the obvious question. "So, what do we do now?"

Roy looked up, squinting against the bright but dying rays of the sun. The whole town was bathed in a sort of eerie red glow, making it look more unreal. The sight set Roy's already frayed nerves on edge, for some reason. "Sun hasn't set yet, but it will soon. We made pretty good time getting here, but we couldn't make it to North City now if we tried, unless of course you'd prefer to freeze to death."

Ed managed a small smile. "The offer sounds tempting, but I'd rather not."

"Then for once we agree." Roy mumbled, his eyes resting on a bleached skeleton a few metres away on one of the store porches. It was sitting on an old rocking chair, skull tilted down just enough to reveal a bullet hole. It didn't look recent, but the clothes hadn't quite decomposed yet. The colonel found himself thankful Ed couldn't see; at least one of them would get to sleep later that night.

They'd been lucky so far; it was a bit cold, but bearable. Despite the fact he wasn't exactly dressed for the weather, Roy was certain that his arms and feet would be only slightly frostbitten later on. A small blessing considering their situation, but one that could have made quite a difference. The idea of changing into something warmer on the train hadn't occurred to him until now. Making it through the night was going to be difficult though, especially without any real form of protection against the cold besides the clothes on their backs and Roy's flame alchemy.

"Hey, Mustang," Ed asked suddenly, "Do you think we could find any blankets or edible food here? We'll obviously have to stay the night."

"I don't know, I should check." The colonel replied, walking into the nearest store he could find. The idea of stealing food wasn't a very pleasant one, but it was better than starving. Besides, it was very unlikely the shop owner would be coming back for his leftover goods.

Roy could remember this place very well; his mother had used to take him with her when she went shopping. Except for the arrangement of the shelves, everything looked exactly as it did then. Even the old rickety stool in the corner was still there, which he had used to sit on while he waited for her to finish her shopping. When he'd gotten older, he'd even chatted with the store clerks, watching the people come in and out. He could remember one time particularly well; that frigid day in winter when his brother had slipped and fell into the river.

_That must have been about eighteen years ago, _He noted dimly. Odd, how fast time could pass…or how much he'd taken for granted.

Setting Ed down carefully on the same stool he himself had once used with surprisingly little protest, Roy set about sifting through the many canned goods. He didn't feel particularly like he was stealing now; they'd obviously been there for quite a while, and he and Ed needed something to eat if they were going to attempt to walk thirteen miles to North City tomorrow.

Besides, as long as they weren't over a year old, they might still be salvageable. He especially kept an eye out for canned meat, knowing from his experiences in Ishbal that canned meat tended to last longer than most other foods. Roughly two to five years usually, sometimes more, especially in ideally cool conditions like these.

"Find anything?" Ed asked, fidgeting and glancing nervously towards where he assumed the door was. The fading sunlight felt warm, but he knew it probably wouldn't last very long.

"I might have." Roy said, dusting each can off and examining them individually. From what he could tell from the best-before dates, the town had been abandoned for roughly nine months at the least. Highly acidic foods like fruit and vegetables would probably still be safe to eat, although he didn't want to take a chance with anything that didn't have a high level of preservatives.

Gathering together the best he could find, Roy couldn't help but feel pleased when he realized how much he'd found. It wasn't exactly fine dining, but it would do. Putting them on the front counter, he rummaged through the back to try and find something to carry them in. His efforts were rewarded when he found a dusty, if not slightly-worn looking cloth bag. He immediately shoved all the cans into the bag; they'd need it for their journey.

"I'm going to walk this time." Ed said firmly after Roy had finished, getting up cautiously. His leg and side still pained him, but the teenager didn't want to have to rely on his superior any more than he had to, purely out of stubbornness.

Roy shrugged. "Suit yourself. We should head for the local hotel down the street, it probably has better insulation and thicker blankets then half of the houses around here anyway."

Ed nodded, and they dutifully set out. Roy didn't like how quiet it was in the streets, and knew without asking that Ed felt the same way. The town was so far of the beaten track, he ventured to guess even vandals didn't enter the town very often, a theory proved correct when he failed to find many broken windows, long-forgotten fire pits or broken bottles. There wasn't even an inch of graffiti to be found.

He blinked, finding himself looking at something both familiar and strange at the same time. It was the intersection where main and Park Street met the very centre of the town. But lying there in the middle of the street was something very curious, flies buzzing around the severely decayed carcass.

"Well, at least we've met the last town resident." Roy said sarcastically, turning to his left and grabbing Ed's hand, walking the direction he knew would lead them to the best hotel in town.

"Will you let go?" Ed said somewhat half-heartedly, too tired to really protest. "And what do you mean about the 'the last town resident'?"

"A dead horse." Roy replied, and let go of Ed's hand. The younger state alchemist could have simply followed the sound of the shifting cans in his bag, but Roy wasn't about to take any chances.

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of a rather impressive-looking three-storey building with a ramshackle wrap around porch and broken shudders. Roy, despite having seen it many times before, immediately found himself comparing it to those saloons that seemed commonplace in westerns. Ironic, considering that towns like this had probably inspired those westerns to begin with.

"'The Angel's Advocate'" Roy recited, the words barely readable on the wooden sign. A worn carving of a kneeling angel looked imploring up past the words. It had been a local joke that she was looking straight into the former owner's room.

"I can recall when this place was virtually considered the most popular place in town. It had a pretty rough reputation. Gambling, drug smuggling, gun fights…you name it, The Angel's Advocate had it. My dad was good friends with the owner before he…well, shall we say rubbed the wrong person the wrong way."

"Kind of an odd name for a hotel." Ed remarked.

Roy laughed. The sound echoed harshly down the vacant boulevard. "Well, the owner was an odd sort of guy."

Ed sighed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain from both his side and leg. "As long as it doesn't have huge snowdrifts in the rooms and has plenty of wool blankets, I don't care."

Thankfully, it did indeed seem to be dry. Considering how long the hotel had been abandoned, it was in remarkably good shape; the furniture was still mostly intact, and the only thing that marked it as being deserted was a thin layer of dust and cobwebs, which coated every inch of the room it could reach. The building itself seemed stable enough, so it was unlikely it would collapse on them while they slept.

Despite this good fortune, however, Roy couldn't help but notice how plain and barebones it looked compared to the grandeur it had known in his time. The furniture was done to the bare boned requirements, and even they looked a bit shabby: one rickety wooden chair behind the front desk, two sofas, a coffee table and three armchairs.

How much else had changed since he'd last been here?

Ridding himself of that thought, Roy immediately set down the bag of canned food and started rummaging in one of the drawers at the front desk.

"What are you looking for?" Ed asked quietly, turning in the direction of the sound. Once again, he wished he could actually see what Mustang was doing and avoid having to ask.

"This drawer has a false bottom, which the owner used to keep a master key hidden. Just because I'd prefer to stay here doesn't mean I want to freeze in the hallway sleeping on a couch." Roy replied.

Ed suddenly became aware that there was some sort of strange crackling sound, like radio static. The sound never decreased or increased in volume, but seemed to stay at the same creepy level. He listened closely, wondering if it was his imagination that they sounded sort of like words.

_sssssstttttaaaayyyy…_

Ed's blood ran cold and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He shifted nervously, focused completely on the static. "Uh…Mustang?"

_sssssstttttaaaayyyy…Edddddwwwwwwaaaarrrdddd…_

The teenager stiffened, his eyes widening. Abruptly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he started.

"Edward, calm down. It's not real, it's just your imagination." Said a familiar voice soothingly, and the hand pulled away.

"W-What?" Ed wasn't normally one to put stock in superstition, but the sound had been so loud and **clear**…

"There was one time when my mother left me here in the lobby to go talk to the owner, and it was completely empty." Unbeknownst to Ed, he smiled bitterly. "It's just the speaker system. It's always done that, and if you have an overactive imagination you might find yourself hear things. I'm surprised it's still working…I guess people really did leave this town in a hurry, if they didn't even switch off the electricity."

"Yeah, like you have any imagination at all." Ed snapped, slightly embarrassed but determined not to show it. Then Mustang's words really sank in. "…Wait, you have a brother?"

"Used to." Mustang replied cryptically, and then he sounded more relieved. "Here it is, just where the owner always kept it."

There was the sound of clattering cans as Roy picked the bag up again. Ed grabbed hold of his sleeve and followed, a resigned expression on his face.

--

They eventually settled for the best room they could find, which was on the second floor. There was only one bed, but Mustang had let Ed use it. The elevator wasn't working (Mustang had examined it, and then murmured something that sounded like 'rats in the wiring'), so they had to use the stairs. This irritated Ed to no end, because having to ask Roy for help getting up and down them was something he didn't want to do. But then, all he really wanted at the moment was to collapse and forget he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with one of the biggest bastards he knew.

Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself sooner than Ed had thought it would.

"I'm going to look for some extra blankets." Mustang said, with that same infuriatingly 'in-charge' tone he always seemed to use when he didn't want any question asked. "Fullmetal, I want you to stay here. Don't leave under any circumstances, because it may be the last thing you ever do."

"Don't be so melodramatic, Mustang. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm pretty sure I can handle a couple of rats."

He had the distinct feeling Mustang was glaring at him. "I'm serious. I don't know if this building is sound structurally all the way through, and even if you manage to avoid any rotted floorboards I'll court-martial you myself for disobeying my orders."

Ed saluted mockingly. "Sure thing, Colonel; I'm sure you must have a lot of catching up to do with the spiders."

Pleased with himself when there was no reply forthcoming, Ed sat down on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, not particularly caring that he was covered in grime, blood, and soaked to the bone. And before he was even aware of Mustang's retreating footsteps, the teenager had fallen asleep.

He drifted in and out of dreams, barely half-remembering them after they had finished. Eventually, however, even sheer exhaustion couldn't keep him blissfully unaware of the world, and he opened his eyes groggily.

…And then he blinked. He was still seeing black, but it was…lighter somehow. Pulling off the cloth, Ed realized there was a small white spot in the center of his vision. Holding his breath, Ed could practically feel his heart in his throat as the spot gradually grew, until finally there was no more black. After what seemed like a century, he became aware of shapes. And then before he knew it, Ed was staring at a rather fancy, if not neglected, bed room.

He hesitantly got up, his leg protesting mightily. The fact he could feel pain convinced him at once that it wasn't a dream, and he was indeed able to see again. A smile tugged at his lips, until he was grinning and then all-out laughing.

"Mustang! You won't believe what just happened!" Practically flying across the room, he quickly opened the door and went out into the hallway, beaming all the while. He knew exactly what he'd do first; find that son of a bitch and tell him off. Blind for life, what a joke!

His grin faded when he noticed something out of place in the grand hallway. A body with short black hair, a blue military uniform, ignition gloves and a pool of blood around it. Ed could smell the blood even from where he was standing. The face was turned away, but he knew immediately who it was.

His heart skipped a beat, and his joy quickly changed to sickening fear. "Mustang?!"

There was no response, and Ed quickly knelt down to check for a pulse. Nothing. Ed couldn't help choking down a sob, futilely shaking the former Colonel. But his dark eyes were dull and lifeless, and though Ed was reeling and barely able to admit the truth to himself, Roy Mustang was dead.

"You bastard…people just don't up and die for no reason. You'll have to do better than that." Ed said shakily, cursing inwardly when he felt tears come to his eyes and blinking them away quickly, surprised despite himself that he was crying over Mustang of all people. Sure, he didn't truly hate the colonel enough to be happy he was dead, but…he hadn't thought he'd cared **that** much.

Ed did everything in his power to try and get some sort of response out of the colonel. Kicking, screaming, anything that could get his attention. But Ed eventually gave up, falling to his knees and glancing blankly at the wall across from him.

_You bastard…the one time I need you, and you aren't here._

Shaking his head at the illogical emotions, Ed stood up, looking away from the body and trying to pull himself together. His breathing was uneven, but he tried his best to ignore it. Only now did he notice the great chunk that had been torn out of Mustang's throat, and though Ed's eyes were still blurred with tears, he realized at once this was obviously what had led to the Colonel's death. There were barely visible teeth marks.

And then Ed understood something else that made him even more afraid. Whatever had killed Roy Mustang, could kill him as well.

As if to answer this thought, there was a thump at the other end of the hallway. Slowly, Ed looked up with wide eyes, almost whimpering in fear when he saw what it was.

A walking, half-decayed corpse. It looked like a strange, warped version of Mustang, mixed in with Al. It was barely able to walk, one leg almost completely rotted away to the bone. A putrid hand reached for him as the thing moaned; an unearthly sound that sent chills down Ed's spine.

He felt Mustang's body shift, and looked down, alarmed. Mustang's eyes suddenly opened, milky white and unfocused. Ed scrambled back, hyperventilating and scared out of his mind. The speakers crackled.

_Ttttthhhhhhiiiiiissssssss iiiiissssssss aaannnn eeeqqqqqqqquuuuiivvvvaaaaaaallllleeeennnnttttt eeeexxxxxxxcccchhhhaaaannngggge, Eeeeedddwwwwaaaaaarrrrrdddd Eeeeeellllllrrrrrrriiiiiiiicccccccc…._

A cruel, deep laughter issued forth from them, and Ed could only stare in horror as Roy Mustang and what he assumed to be his brother (his or Mustang's, it didn't matter) hissed and threw themselves at him.

"Ed, wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

Gasping, Ed opened his eyes, nearly having a heart attack when he felt something close to him, barely registering the fact he was still blind.

"G-get away!" Ed stammered, quickly trying to distance himself from the presence, falling off the bed in the process.

"Get a hold of yourself, Fullmetal! It's me!" The voice snapped, and Ed felt someone grab him and pull him back onto the bed, quickly checking for any injuries.

"…Mustang?" Ed said; his tone dazed. Roy frowned, wondering what on earth could have shaken him that much. He cleared his throat, trying to sound admonishing.

"Yes, and if you pull a stunt like that again, I'll leave you here to fend for yourself." Instead of having the desired effect of riling Ed up, Roy was shocked when the teenager actually**hugged** him, sobbing and holding onto him tightly.

For once in his life, Roy Mustang was completely speechless. He briefly wondered if he was the one dreaming, but a rather violent sob from Ed immediately pushed that thought away. Roy had always hated comforting people, especially people who normally didn't need it.

Still, Roy figured he might as well try. Awkwardly patting Ed on the back, he tried to sound as reassuring as he could. "It's okay; it was just a nightmare…"

Ed said something that sounded spiteful (probably some sort of swear word), but it came out too muffled for Roy to understand. Rolling his eyes and sighing, Mustang couldn't help but be a bit thankful. If he was still spouting insults at him, Ed probably hadn't suffered too much.

And so Roy sat there, absently rubbing Ed's back as the teenager progressively calmed down. He sympathized a bit with the kid; Roy had had his share of pretty nasty nightmares himself, mostly about Ishbal. The massacre may have been long over, but the colonel had never been able to fully forget the dying screams and smell of burning flesh.

At that moment, the speaker in the hallway crackled and the static became louder. The effect this had on Ed was instantaneous, as he stiffened and roughly shoved Roy away. Roy, however, had been prepared for this, and merely got up and walked towards the doorway, peering out into the hall.

"What was that…?" He said, half to himself and half for Ed's benefit.

Ed's answer didn't sound very confident. "Probably rats again."

The speaker crackled again, and Roy's eyebrows went up when he realized he could make out actual words, though barely at that. He only heard the occasional syllable, the static far too present to hear anything else. For him, at least.

"_Nails said he saw some guy and a kid heading up this way…do you think it could be that Mustang we're looking for boss?"_

Ed felt his mouth go completely dry. Was his nightmare coming true? Pushing that unpleasant thought aside and swallowing nervously, he finally managed to find his voice.

"Someone else is here…and they're looking for you."

Ed knew without being able to see that Mustang was looking at him strangely. "What?"

Ed listened carefully, trying to make out more of the conversation. "I think they saw us coming here. They said they were looking for a guy called Mustang."

"You can hear that much?" Mustang sounded impressed. "Do they sound familiar?"

Ed frowned. "No, but I…wait, they're saying something important."

"_They couldn't be alive, you imbecile. No one else was. I thought you had your men search the wreckage thoroughly?"_

"_Ah, boss, I was there and I saw nuthin', but we got there a whole damn hour after it wrecked. The Wolston trail was blocked, and we had to take the long way 'round."_

"_Dammit Rooster! I told you to watch the rails!"_

"_I know you did boss, but it was so fucking cold out there. Nails and Bugsy here wouldn't go, but neither would Baby Face, Fox and Butcher. I saw it, though; junk everywhere and at least a mile of downed trees. It was such a big explosion, you couldn't tell the bodies from the rest of the crap."_

"_I don't want excuses, I want results! If the Mysterium Magnum were to find about this, I shan't bother to save your sorry hides!"_

"They definitely don't sound familiar." Ed answered. "There are three of them I can hear…one of them sounds kind of stuck up. I think he's the leader. And there are three others. None of them sound friendly."

Wordlessly, Roy grabbed his arm and pushed open the doorway, wincing when it creaked slightly, inching slowly down the hallway to the stairs. Ed tried to follow him as best he could, knowing that he couldn't afford to trip over anything at this point.

Roy cautiously peered round the corner, ducking down when he was nearly spotted. Carefully hidden in the shadows of the elaborate railing, he risked a glance. There were six men, all sitting on the few couches and armchairs the hotel lobby had to offer. It appeared to be a gang of some sort, although what they were doing in a place like this was beyond Roy.

One was wearing a posh, expensive-looking coat, a monocle and top hat. This was in stark contrast to the others, who were wearing torn, dirty overcoats and ragged fedoras. Roy could tell immediately the well-groomed man was the leader of the motley bunch, noting his large moustache and snobbish air. Probably a crooked businessman or some other similar occupation, judging by his appearance and attitude.

The leader sighed. "Do you have any good news to tell me?"

"Of course we do boss!" Answered one of the men eagerly. From what Roy could see, he had white hair and a grey overcoat and hat. His gnarled hands and hunched posture immediately marked him as an older man.

Another man spoke up, speaking so softly Mustang could barely hear him. "Capone wired us earlier to say that he got rid of that Terrell dame back in South City. Mustang is the only one left now, and he can't have gone too far. I…**persuaded** some of our best men to scour the area around the train wreck. If he ends up slipping away, he'll have to go through this town."

The leader nodded approvingly. "Good, Baby Face, I would expect as much from you. Bugsy, you would do well to take a few lessons from him."

The older man (who Roy assumed was Bugsy) turned to glare at Baby Face, looking away when the other man looked in his direction.

"What is this, some sort of gathering for criminals?" Ed whispered, nearly making Roy jump. Forcing himself to calm down, Roy nodded, once again forgetting Ed couldn't see.

"I think…the nicknames don't sound familiar, except for Baby Face. I think there was a crime lord from around New Optain known by that." The colonel squinted, trying to see their faces better. But they were on the other side of the room, and the task eventually proved impossible.

"If you've never heard of them, then what do they want with you?" Ed questioned, clearly not keen on the idea of having to slip by a group of hardened criminals out for blood.

Roy, meanwhile had no idea why they were so focused on him. He'd never seen them before, and he sincerely doubted anyone who would be interested in killing him would hire thugs like this. It had all the earmarks of some sort of big time criminal activity. Were they after some sort of military secret? Central command hadn't really specified why they'd needed him to come all the way out north…

Roy didn't turn to face the teenager, his eyes firmly fixed on the four men. "I don't know, and I hope we don't find out."

"Why did I have to get mixed up in something like this." Ed murmured sulkily, and Roy couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. They should leave, go back the way they came, gather up anything they could use and climb out the nearest window they could find, quickly and quietly.

No good would come of staying here, he knew that without question. Even being exposed to the elements was preferable to whatever sort of treatment he'd receive at their hands. It was only a matter of time before those criminals found out they weren't the only people in the ghost town, and Roy didn't fancy sticking around to have a gun pointed at his head.

Still, he listened closer, fascinated. Whatever they had against him was obviously something they considered very important. The more he found out now, the more likely he'd be able to prepare himself in the future if they tailed him to North City.

Roy's thoughts quickly backtracked to the situation at hand, and how he was going to get both him and Ed out of there without attracting any attention. The window idea was unlikely; he couldn't handle a two-story drop on a good day, let alone when there was snow making it difficult to see where he'd land. There was a chandelier over the heads of the criminals, maybe he could break the chain holding it in place and they could make a run for it. No, too risky…he'd have to try something less likely to backfire on him.

"Don't worry about Mustang, boss." One of the men said confidently, flipping open a switchblade and then closing it. "I know just how to deal with men like him. Right, Rooster?"

The man Roy guessed to be Rooster just grinned and snickered to himself.

The leader gave him a stern look over his glasses. "Butcher, I don't want any delays or mistakes. I want him **dead** and buried by Wednesday."

Butcher saluted cheerfully, his grin revealing a gold tooth. "You bet."

"Now, Fox," Began the leader, turning to the only man who hadn't been introduced. "I want you to take care of the stickier details. I know you have connections in the military, and I expect you to take full advantage of them when the time comes. We don't want any dogs snooping around trying to foul up our plans."

Fox nodded. He didn't look much older than Ed, barely nineteen at best. Bright red hair was half-hidden under a black fedora, and his arms were crossed. He looked very serious, obviously not trusting anyone in the room.

Seeing the leader's expectant look, Fox nodded eventually. "Sure, I can handle that."

"Good." The leader said, leaning back into his chair with a satisfied expression. "Now all that remains is finding Roy Mustang."

Roy couldn't see Baby Face's expression, but the smugness was readily evident in his voice when he next spoke. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that, boss. They're right behind us."

The colonel stiffened, his eyes widening in alarm. _Dammit!_

--

I've come to the conclusion while writing this story that if I ever got stranded in the middle of nowhere with no useful supplies, I want to end up with someone like Roy Mustang. Seriously, the guy writes himself in situations like this. He'd know how to survive and he'd have the means to do it :)

Now, with Ed…He managed to survive Yock Island, so I might have chance of lasting through the day. Maybe. If I really worked at it and tried to resist calling him short. And if I was lucky. Really, really lucky. -grins-


	4. Last Resort

In cases like the SARS epidemic vital health information can be misrepresented or distorted, causing a pandemic panic

**Author's Note:** Hope you all had a pleasant holiday :) Yes, I know it was mean of me to leave the last chapter at a cliffhanger, but I didn't have much choice! I'm still surprised at how much positive feedback this fic has received, though I can't honestly say I'm not pleased! :D Apparently this fic is also tied to the meaning of life, since it has 42 reviews so far…

I'm afraid I still don't have time to properly PM all the reviewers, though there are some people I desperately want to reply to who have offered extremely valuable constructive critism (Velkyn Karma, I'm looking at you). Sorry, I'm still pretty busy!

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Four: Last Resort**

Ed felt his breath catch in his throat. Leaping to his feet, Roy grabbed Ed's hand and immediately tried to make it to the nearest exist he could find: the door. There was a shout, and Roy unexpectedly found himself blocked by Butcher, who was grinning and brandishing his knife as if he couldn't wait to kill him.

Roy stopped, paying no heed when Ed ran into him. Roy held out his hand, ready to snap his fingers and fry the criminal to a crisp if he made any sudden moves. Eyes still focused on the criminal, Roy quickly started going through all the available exits he could reach before the standstill was broken.

"Hey, what the hell is going-" The teenager asked, quieting when he heard the sound of someone cocking a pistol next to his ear.

"I would take off those gloves if I were you." The leader of the men said, moving in front of Butcher, his tone serious and broking no argument. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other men had their guns at the ready as well, focused on Edward. Roy, finding himself looking straight into the barrel of pistol, nevertheless made no move to take his ignition gloves off in a silent act of defiance.

"**Take them off**." The leader hissed, moving to put the barrel of the gun against Ed' forehead instead. Roy allowed himself a glance at the confused and terrified kid, and then slowly pulled his gloves off and threw them to the floor. Fox reached to grab them immediately, pistol still trained on Roy.

The leader smiled, lifting the gun away and handing it to Baby Face. "Good, I'm glad to see we understand each other, Colonel. I'm not the sort of man who beats around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point. How did you survive that train accident, and how much did you hear?"

"Dumb luck, and the hell I'm going to tell you." Roy replied coldly. Butcher growled and started forward, but the leader held out his arm to block him.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm sure you know enough to make things difficult for us if you ever got away. This is a rather curious situation, I'm afraid, especially considering you have a protégé …yes, a rather curious situation-"

"Boss, we just hafta kill the bastards and be done with it!" Rooster interjected earnestly, now the centre of attention. "The Mysterium said-"

And then Baby Face pulled out his gun and shot him on the spot, straight in the chest. Rooster made a gurgling sound, blood dribbling from his mouth, before falling over. He was dead before he hit the floor. Roy stepped back, alarmed, holding Ed's flesh arm tightly. The teenager was shaking, his eyes wide as he desperately tried to figure out what was going on.

"Mustang, was that…" Ed couldn't finish the sentence. His fears were confirmed all the same when Mustang squeezed his wrist.

"Oops, sorry, I slipped." Baby Face said innocently, his guiltless façade ruined when he blew the smoke off the end of the barrel. "Now, how about we calm down and listen to the boss. It's rude to interrupt. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Unsurprisingly, there was utter silence. Roy didn't even allow himself to move, for fear of setting Baby Face off. After a moment, Baby Face nodded approvingly, putting his gun away.

"You didn't need to do that." Butcher grumbled mutinously, glaring at Baby Face.

Baby Face shrugged. "Well, I think I did. He was your fucking brother, not mine. If you didn't want him to end up dead, you should have kept him quiet."

Roy immediately looked at Butcher to see what his reaction was, not liking the furious expression on his face. Butcher, however, kept his mouth shut and simply crossed his arms, his eyes fixated on Baby Face.

"As I was saying," The leader began, as if he hadn't just seen one of his men killed before his eyes. "You've put me in a rather strange position, colonel. The Mysterium expects me to kill you, but now that you're here you could be of more use to me alive…"

"What do you want with him?" Ed asked tersely, before Roy could do anything.

The leader gave him an amused look. "I don't see what business it is of yours, boy."

This time Roy firmly placed a hand over Ed's mouth. "Don't pay any attention to him, he's just a subordinate. Although I can't help but wonder why you seem so intent on killing me as well. Call it personal interest, if you will."

Ed smoldered at the 'subordinate' comment, and was about to yank Mustang's hand away and tell the colonel what he really thought of him, when Ed realized the hand in question was shaking. He felt it pull away and settle on his shoulder, clenching it for a moment, a silent plea to hold his tongue.

Colonel Roy Mustang, supposed hero of Ishbal, pokerfaced champion of the military and unshakable state alchemist…was scared. That thought alone was enough to stop Ed in his tracks.

The boss outright laughed at this. "Oh ho, brave words for someone trapped like a rat. I think I like you Roy Mustang, if only because you're unwilling to try compromising your dignity to save your skin. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for your little friend…"

"He's Edward Elric." Baby Face supplied. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Well then, I've heard quite a lot about you Mr. Elric." The leader said with a smile. "Unfortunately, you're of no use to me. Fox? Bugsy? Butcher?"

Ed stiffened, and then he felt himself being roughly pulled away from Mustang's comfortingly familiar presence. The teenager fought briefly, snarling and trying his best to land a good kick on the bastards despite his wounds, but a swift and jarring blow to his neck left him dazed and limp.

Ed's attacker let him fall to the floor, which only succeeded in worsening his lightheaded condition. He could hear shouting, and strained to try and differentiate the words, ignoring the pounding in his head

"Let him go!" The desperation in Roy's tone was palpable. No amount of bluffing and manipulation could get him out of this situation.

Two of the men forced him to his knees, his arms pinned behind his back. A combination of hunger, exhaustion and slight blood loss made it almost impossible to fight them, but Roy nevertheless tried when he saw Baby Face inspect and then cock his gun, pointing directly at a dizzy Ed.

"_Against the wall, De Havilland! I want to show your superior officer the real meaning of war."_

_Roy struggled, but the rusty chains wouldn't break no matter how much force he used against them. Anxiety and the sickening feeling of rising fear drove out any other thought, except the desire to save his comrade. He knew what they would do to De Havilland; they did it to all prisoners sooner or later, after they'd tortured information out of them. He had to stop it somehow, but the chains were unbreakable and they were blindfolding him and pushing him against the wall and dammit he was weak and couldn't do anything to stop it they were going to-_

Just before the shot split through the musty air, Ed felt himself violently shoved to the side and pinned to the wall by someone or something. A shocked silence proceeded to envelop the small hotel lobby, broken only by a small climb on dust descending from the ceiling and drifting gentlely to the ground.

Roy coughed from the dust now coating his throat, but never so much as twitched. He knew that the only reason they hadn't tried to shoot Ed again was because Roy was valuable and they needed him alive. If that meant being a human shield, so be it.

It was at this point that Roy became aware of the growing of the pain in his shoulder and the new gash near his ear, along with the warm blood trickling down his arm. He grimaced; one more injury, one more strike against their chances of survival.

"M…Mustang?" Roy immediately focused his attention on Ed, who was alarmingly pale and shaking. The blood from Roy's shoulder was dripping onto him, seeping through the teenager's leather jacket and adding to his mounting panic.

"It only grazed me. Now stay down and shut up." Roy hissed, though with subdued anger. He'd seen large amounts of blood before, but the amount of **his** blood streaming from the wound on his head was starting to make him queasy. He'd been lucky, ridiculously lucky. An inch deeper, and…he didn't want to think about what might have happened.

Worse still, he felt strangely pleased with his stupidity. It had almost cost him his life, but it had worked.

"…You're full of surprises, colonel." The leader said; his tone a mixture of mild astonishment and…approval? "I know very few men who would actively place themselves in the way of a bullet to save even their own mothers. I can't imagine what would possess you to do something like that."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me, considering your profession." Roy shot back, knowing all the while he was adding fuel to the fire, but unable to resist. Both of them would probably end up dead anyway in a few minutes, so what did it truly matter?

The leader smiled mockingly. "Indeed. Now, as to the fate of your companion…I can see you would prefer him to stay alive. He's blind, isn't he? Strapping young lad…a bit on the small side, but I'd wager his skill with alchemy and his importance to you might-"

"If you want to kill us, stop talking and just do it." Roy snapped; his nerves on edge. Ed hadn't even mustered up a short rant, and Roy could only guess that his injuries had opened and the blood loss was starting to affect him. A theory that further gained credibility when Roy glanced back to see his half-lidded eyes, then quickly turned back.

The man laughed. "I can't believe it! You save the boy only to demand death for him afterwards. What a strange world we live in!"

But Roy was getting tired of these games. He'd thought the military higher-ups had been bad, with their back-stabbing and conniving, but he knew at once there was no comparison between them and the merciless criminals that stood before him. At least they couldn't kill him at the drop of a hat without having to cover it up and fill out the necessary paperwork.

The colonel's eyes darted to the closest escape route he could find and that wasn't boarded up. The front entrance. It was farther away than it had been before, and he'd never be able to make it, especially with Ed out cold. But he just couldn't leave the teenager behind…Roy didn't want to think about what they'd do to him. Ed didn't deserve that sort of pain; nobody did. What was the point of surviving the damn train wreck if they couldn't even live to tell the tale?

And then it came to him. A brilliantly clever idea, so stupid and yet so effective it just might work. It was a gamble, and it might ruin his reputation if these men really had connections to the military and word got around, but it would be worth it. If Ed didn't kill him afterwards, at least. Hopefully the kid would catch on. Hell, he was supposed to be some sort of child prodigy after all, wasn't he?

"You wondered what would possess me to do something like that?" He asked, sounding far more confident than he felt. "Well, he's my son."

That seemed to jerk Ed out of his daze. "WHAT?!"

For a moment, no one spoke. And then their captors simultaneously began to roar with laughter.

"You? A father?"

"I've heard you were a womanizer, but there's no fucking way that could be possible!"

"He doesn't even look like you!"

Ed turned to him, looking surprising lucid and unsurprisingly angry. "What the hell are you-"Roy covered Ed's mouth.

"Just saving your life, Ed. No need to thank me." He muttered, loudly enough for Ed to hear but quietly enough to avoid be overheard.

But all too soon that laughter died done, eventually dwindling to only the occasional chuckle or snicker. And it was then Roy prepared himself to tell the biggest lie he'd ever told in his life. Well, besides that time he'd made a few 'adjustments' to Hawkeye's gun…probably not been the safest thing to do, but her expression had been utterly priceless. Who knew you could have so much fun with bubblegum?

That rather amusing train of thought was abruptly derailed when he found a knife inches from his throat.

"Explanations are in order, I believe." Baby Face said as formally as he could manage, the bloodlust subtle but apparent in his expression. Roy wisely complied.

"It's true. Though he looks mostly like his mother, I'll admit." Though his tone and expression were practically the epitome of casualness, Roy's mind was racing a mile a minute trying to find evidence to support his claim.

Fox shrugged, for once contributing to the conversation. "Well, from what I've heard, he does have a first lieutenant he's fairly close to, and she's blond and Amestrian like the kid. They've known each other since before Ishbal. I think they were childhood friends of some sort, back when Mustang here was apprenticed under her father."

There were a few thoughtful murmurs at that, to Roy's relief. If they wanted to pick Riza, that just made his lie a lot easier to tell. Finally, it was Butcher who voiced the obvious question.

"Why doesn't the brat have 'Hawkeye' or 'Mustang' for a last name then? And I heard he grew up in Risembool down south."

"Please, don't insult my intelligence." Roy snorted. "I couldn't keep him, and neither could Hawkeye, for obvious reasons. A fake name is an easy thing to come up with, especially if you have a friend willing to adopt the child." Well, it was true that he'd known Hohenheim, in any case. Whether or not they'd been friends was a debatable point, but there was no way they could know that.

Roy inwardly smirked, knowing he had them exactly where he wanted them. Whether or not they knew Ed was actually not related to him at all, the important thing was he had them **doubting**. Not bad, not bad at all, if he could say so himself. Now, he just had to find someway to suggest to them that Ed would be a more valuable asset if they kept him alive…

"For now, we might want to consider keeping him alive." Fox said quietly, as if in answer to Roy's prayers. "Whether or not this is true, he certainly seems willing to risk his life for the kid. Elric might prove useful indeed if we want to interrogate Mustang."

The leader considered this advice thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose…providing you would be willing to guard Mustang and the extra prisoner, Fox."

Fox shrugged. "As a representative of our employer, my only wish is to assure the most profitable success I can for him. If that means watching a prisoner, I'm perfectly willing."

Bugsy outright laughed at this. "The fucking hell you do. Yer out for yerself, just life the rest of us."

And that was when, incredible as it may have seemed, Roy knew he had won.

"Take them to the bar." The leader commanded, gesturing towards Butcher and Fox. "Tie them up, tightly. Make sure both of you are close by and able to see every move they make. Baby Face?"

"Yes sir?" The criminal said, with unexpected politeness.

"I want to give you time to prepare, but I need you to have all your equipment set up and inspected in one hour. I'm not the sort of man who believes in wasting time, and I'd rather we'd finish Mustang's interrogation as quickly as possible."

Roy and Ed were roughly forced to their feet, the ever-present gun digging into their back urging them on. They were led down through what looked to be the decrepit remains of the hotel restaurant, then into what appeared to be the bar. There wasn't anything unusual about it; it had a scratched counter, stools and tables off to the side for less sociable patrons. Roy suspected that at one time it had been a vibrant, lively place, but it seemed that time had not been kind to what remained of it.

Pulling out two chairs from under the thick layer of dust and cobwebs, Fox and Butcher proceeded to tie the two state alchemists unto them, back to back, using a piece of rope that had been obtained from the nearby kitchen. Pulling up two more chairs and dusting themselves off, Fox proceeded to watch them like a hawk. Butcher, however, quickly grew bored and decided to see what sort of alcoholic drinks he could find on the back shelf.

This was all done in a tense silence, despite the occasional exchange between their two captors. Roy was biding his time, waiting to see if he could find some opening before their hour was up. No such luck was forthcoming; there were no windows in the bar, and the only entrance was the one they had come in. Furthermore, Fox and Butcher were irritatingly proficient, having been true to their word and tied them up tightly. They looked relaxed, but Roy didn't doubt that as soon as either he or Ed tried to escape they'd find themselves staring down the barrel of their guns.

"Talk." Butcher said somewhat amusedly, jolting the Colonel from his thoughts. He appeared to be addressing Ed, nudging him with a dusty bottle filled with some unidentifiable liquid. "Go ahead kid, we're not going to shoot you unless you do something stupid. I can see you want to."

Ed gave him the most poisonous look he could manage; a daunting task indeed, considering his head was throbbing, his side wound was tingling unpleasantly, and he couldn't even see Butcher. An amused chuckle from the opposite direction he was glaring at only served to make him more furious.

"Ed, are you okay?" The sudden whispered question caught him off guard. He quickly recovered, however.

"Oh yeah, I'm great. I think that damn hole in my side is getting infected, my head hurts, and I'm going to die in a few minutes because of **you**."

"Next time I'll let them shoot you." Mustang wasn't in the best of moods at the moment either.

Ed's reply was surprising calm. "Then why didn't you?"

"…I'm not inhuman, Fullmetal."

"Could have fooled me."

"Well, I couldn't let you die."

That caught Ed off guard. "What? Why the hell do you care? Helping me is one thing, risking yourself for me just isn't the Roy Mustang way of doing things."

Roy caught Butcher looking at them curiously out of the corner of his eye, and glared at him. Butcher shrugged, turning his chair backwards and sitting down on it.

Roy sighed. "Look, none of that matters right now. If I'm really going to be tortured for information in the next hour-" Butcher tapped his watch, and then pointed at a nearby clock. "…in the next forty minutes, then shouldn't we at least be civil to each other?"

Ed mulled that over for a few minutes. "Why didn't you let me die?"

"I think I already answered that question."

"No you didn't. I know it's a stretch for a lying, cheating bastard like you, but could you at least tell me the truth?"

Roy hesitated briefly. "…I'm pretty sure you can figure it out for yourself. Or most of it, at least."

"…For the same reason you helped me get into the military?"

"Yes."

"Well, that helps a lot." Ed replied sarcastically.

"I'm sorry."

Ed blinked, and there was a brief pause.

"…Alright, who are you and what have you done with Roy Mustang?"

"I'm serious, Ed."

"So am I." Ed said simply. "And since…since they're going to be torturing you in a few minutes bec-…for information, I guess I should say thank you."

Now it was Roy's turn to blink.

"Aw, look at this Fox, they're making up!" Butcher chuckled. "Go on Mustang, might as well kiss him instead of talking him to death. Although that might be a bit difficult."

"Fuck off!" Ed snarled.

Roy, however, refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing his anger. "Just ignore him, Ed."

But Butcher continued on, apparently pleased with the reaction his jab had provoked. "So Mustang, how much did you pay him anyways? Must be nice to have a good-looking kid like him on h-"

"Butcher, would you mind getting some more rope?" Fox interrupted. Butcher raised an eyebrow, but left nevertheless left. After he was out of sight and earshot, Fox stood up and pulled out a pocketknife, walking towards them. For one brief moment, Roy wondered if he was going to stab them both to death. And then stared as Fox started to cut the ropes off of them.

"I don't have much time to explain. I'm First Lieutenant Daniel Goshawk, and I'm under strict orders not to tell anyone why I'm here. After I cut you both lose, Colonel, I want you to punch me out and grab your ignition gloves and my knife. With any luck, it will look like you overpowered me and cut yourselves lose, although I'm sure they won't trust me very much after this. Do we understand each other?"

Roy nodded, grasping the situation instantly. "Yes, we do. Who sent you?"

"General Grumman." The red-haired man replied immediately, cutting the final rope. Both Ed and Roy stood up unsteadily, both still shaky from blood loss.

"It seems awfully convenient that we ran into you. Almost too convenient." Ed pointed out.

Roy nodded. "I'm afraid I have to agree. Could you give me some sort of proof of your identity? Are you sure you can't tell us why you're here?"

Goshawk wavered. "No, I can't. I'm here for the same reason you are though. The winter of 1903 ring any bells?"

Roy's eyes widened. No one should still know about that; no one still alive, that was. "How do you-"

Goshawk couldn't meet their eyes. "It's complicated, but I can't tell you any more. The General will have my head if I do, even once he finds out you were here."

Roy growled in frustration. "Lieutenant, these men are out for my **life**. The least you can do is give me more than that!"

"I can't," Goshawk said apologetically. "Quickly, you must leave, before Butcher comes back."

"Mustang, what the hell is going on?!" Ed snapped, not pleased about being forgotten. "What does 'the winter of 1903' have to do with anything?"

But there was no time for Roy to reply; the sound of heavy boots against the worn wooden floor was drawing closer. Goshawk gave him a pleading look. Quickly, Roy punched the first lieutenant out, wincing as he did so. Snatching up Goshawk's knife and his ignition gloves, he put the latter on swiftly. Then he grabbed Ed's automail arm with one hand, snapping his fingers with the other.

The old, dry wooden floor went up in an instant, filling the restaurant with flames and smoke. Dragging Ed out of the bar with him, Roy covered his mouth with his sleeve and ran as fast as he could, heading toward the nearest wall. Snapping his fingers again, the wall was instantly set alight, the burnt wood weakened but still intact. A solid kick quickly changed that fact, and both the state alchemists threw themselves out into the driving winds and blinding snow of the blizzard.

"What about the lieutenant?" Ed hollered over the storm, the force of the wind making his bangs almost completely cover his face.

"I didn't hit him that hard! Just enough to leave a nasty black eye, and make him a bit dizzy afterwards!" Roy yelled back. "We should probably head to the railway bridge. That's the one way they won't expect us to go, and hopefully they won't have tracks to follow in a few minutes!"

"I hope you're right, because I don't really want to become a human popsicle!" And with that said, they were off, running as fast as they could. Ed could only trust that Roy knew where he was going, and clutched his arm tightly. He didn't relish the thought of getting lost in a storm like this. Thankfully, the snow wasn't that deep.

Roy, on the other hand, was having difficulty remembering which way to go at first. Eventually however, the dark buildings started to look familiar, until thirty minutes or so later they had finally reached the end of town. He looked back, seeing a haze of light back in the direction of the hotel. They had a decent head start; hopefully that would make things easier in the long run.

Away from the paved roads, the terrain became much more uneven as they entered the nearby forest. Roy nearly twisted his ankle twice, and at one point Ed tripped and fell down into the snow. After being helped to his feet and sputtering something about not being hurt, they continued on through the blizzard. Branches clawed at them, snagging on their clothes, ripping them in some cases.

All of the sudden, Ed tugged on Roy's arm, and the colonel stopped when he felt him let go. Roy looked back in time to see the teenager clap his hands together and kneel down, placing them on the ground.

A bright blue flash of light later, and Roy felt compelled to ask what he was doing. "Care to explain why you're costing us valuable minutes?"

Ed smirked. "Oh, nothing. I just transmuted the area back there into ice. Best thing is they won't even see it at first, since there'll be a good inch of snow left on top."

"We should probably keep going then. Hopefully that will buy us some time." Though Roy's tone was serious, there was an undercurrent of amusement present that betrayed him.

A few minutes later, however, Roy found himself feeling a sense of growing panic. In front of them lay the train bridge, just as robust as Roy remembered it to be. Even if the rest of the town had fallen on bad times, the bridge was obviously still maintained. But the problem didn't lie in whether or not it was still sturdy, but how they would get across without slipping. The tracks were spaced far enough apart to make him hesitate, and the churning murky waters below didn't do anything to encourage him. What if Ed fell? Furthermore, what if **he** fell?

Looking back, his eyes caught sight of a beam of light a few yards away. As he had predicted earlier, their tracks had all but disappeared in the snow, but he knew the criminals had probably figured out which direction they were going if they'd made it this far.

Roy and Ed needed a hiding place, and fast. Which is when another incredibly stupid and dangerous idea occurred to them. He needed to stop throwing himself into things blindly, and vowed to do so after he wasn't at risk of being caught, tortured and shot.

"Colonel? Why have we stopped?"

Steeling himself, Roy headed straight for the tracks, pulling Ed with him. "Fullmetal, we're at a bridge. We need to hide, so I want you to listen to what I say and **be careful**."

Ed gave him a confused look, and then suddenly realized what Roy had in mind. "Oh no, there's no way in hell I'm doing something that risky! There must be plenty of other better places to hide!"

"I'm not blind. Don't you think you should trust my judgment?" Roy shouted, the wind becoming fiercer even as he spoke.

Carefully holding onto the rails and Ed's hand, Roy climbed down the sides of the bridge, making sure to get a firm foothold on a wooden beam. Ed followed reluctantly, and with (though he was loathe to admit even to himself) a lot of help from Mustang, eventually ended up next to him.

And then all they could do was huddle together and wait, standing on a bunch of wooden support beams above a rushing river, as the flashlight beam grew closer.

--

Well, that was intense. At least when it came to writing it, I'll let you guys make the judgment call on whether or not it was decently written :) By the way, I'm looking for a beta for this story, so if anyone wants to volunteer and feels they have a decent grounding in grammar, spelling, etc., I'll be a very happy writer! My spell-check is very evil, and I don't get a chance to proofread my chapters the way I'd like to.


	5. Waking Dream

**Author's Note:** Again, I got such good feedback on the last chapter! I'm getting so much awesome constructive criticism I can barely read it all ;D

And I'm pleased to say that **Cold-Foxx** is now betaing this story! I think she did a great job, and I'm really pleased with the result, so much kudos directed her way! :)

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Five: Waking Dream**

The sound of crunching snow was louder now, right over their heads.

From Roy's position underneath the railway tracks, he could see the worn sole of a leather boot mere inches from his face. It shifted slightly, and the Colonel winced when a tiny clump of snow fell onto his cheek.

Ed, meanwhile, was as quiet as could be. Despite being reputed to be a 'hero of the people' who had faced down egomaniac men far older and experienced then himself, Ed was clinging to Roy's arm like a lifeline and shaking like a leaf. Roy couldn't tell if it was from the cold or fear…probably both. The stress and exhaustion of the past five hours or so were finally starting to wear the blonde down, and he didn't even seem to notice that Roy was holding him tightly. Then again, one slip could mean the end of them both, so perhaps his lack of protest wasn't too surprising.

Crowded together with his most difficult subordinate on a thin wooden beam, with a killer out for their blood standing directly above them, Roy couldn't help but wonder how it had all come to this. He'd certainly racked up his share of bad karma in his time, but surely not enough to warrant this sort of hell. And the kid…he deserved this even less.

But this was no time to deliberate the situation at hand. Mentally retracing his steps, Mustang methodically went over their recent escape route for any possible mistake that would give them away. The blizzard had probably been strong enough to erase their footprints by now, Roy was sure of that. They weren't making any sound, or moving at all. Nevertheless, the question still remained…why was the criminal above hesitating?

"Muuuuustang! Come out come out where ever you are!" Roy felt Ed tense, and recognized the voice immediately as being Bugsy's. The flashlight beam swept over the grey waters below, and Roy nearly felt his heart stop when it moved right past them.

Carefully holding Ed and keeping as quiet as possible, Roy tugged his jacket off, placing it over both of them. Ed gave him a look that was a mixture between annoyance and puzzlement, and Roy knew at once he needed to elaborate.

"Light hair and searchlights don't mix very well." Roy said in a low voice, barely audible over the muted roar of the river below them. However, for an extended period of time Ed had relied on his ears as opposed to his sight, ever since the train wreck had left him blind. Easily hearing him, the teenager nodded.

There was the sound of more footsteps. "Any luck Bugsy?"

Great, now Butcher was here.

"No, I don't see anything. Baby Face did say they might have gone down this way, but I don't think they'd risk the bridge. The kid wasn't in great shape, remember?"

Butcher made a sound of agreement. "Yeah, you're probably right. LeMat wants us back, anyway. Said the storm's getting worse."

"That's **Mr.** LeMat to you!" Bugsy replied heatedly.

"Yeah, yeah; anyway, what matter is that Baby Face isn't happy about it." Butcher sounded pleased.

There was a laugh. "That bastard's never fully satisfied unless he gets to kill someone."

There was the sound of footsteps heading back in the direction of the town, and Roy wasn't able to hear the rest of the conversation. He didn't need to. Now he had some sort of lead to work with; a name, which might or might not be reliable. Roy could only assume they were referring to the leader in charge of their little gang of thieves. It was a start, at least.

Ed, on the other hand, still didn't dare move. He could feel the blood from Roy's shoulder and head wound seep into his clothes. Ed was pretty sure his automail probably made Mustang very uncomfortable, but he was just too tired to care at the moment. Mustang thankfully saved him the trouble of moving, and helped Ed get back onto the railway tracks before pulling himself up as well.

"So…what's the plan?" Ed asked bluntly, his flesh hand feeling the freezing metal and snow of the rails underneath.

Roy had no choice but to be honest. "I have no clue."

With any luck, they could make it across the bridge and into safer territory, but beyond that he didn't have a clue. It was only then that Roy realized that what little he could see of the sky was almost pitch-black, having been caught up in avoiding their former captors. Pulling out his pocket watch and squinting, he could just barely make out the time: midnight, on the dot.

"We should find some place to camp for the night. Preferably as far away from this town as possible…" He mused aloud, falling back into the familiar role of the commanding superior officer. "We should probably stay away from the railway tracks or any roads; they'll probably be searching for us along those routes. I think I might know where to find an old trail to North City, though."

Ed shrugged. "You're the one who grew up here. You tell me where you think we should go."

Sighing, Roy gazed blankly into the raging blizzard and tried his best to remember where exactly they were. Probably about two miles out of town, judging by the bridge…which meant they were close to at least a few cottages and farms. Whether or not they were still occupied, Roy didn't know, but it was worth a try.

Stepping on the individual wooden planks, Roy was relieved to see they were still fairly secure. Guiding Ed along proved to be a much more difficult task, as whenever he slipped, he pulled Roy down with him. The ice and snow just made the task even trickier, and eventually Roy couldn't hold back a growl of frustration. Was **everything** against them?

"It's not my damn fault I can't see where I'm going!" Ed snapped, thinking Roy's irritation was directed at him. The teenager feebly managing to yank his arm out from Mustang's grasp, and the colonel let go easily, to Ed's surprise.

And so the teenager stood there, panting and glaring at Mustang as best he could, considering Ed couldn't even tell where the man was. When had he suddenly become so tired and weak? He felt like he hadn't slept in a week, though he knew Mustang felt worse. His head was swimming, and his breath was coming out in short gasps. Disoriented, Ed buckled and fell to his knees, the cold and wet snow unpleasantly reminding him that he wasn't just dreaming.

"Can we really survive this?"

Roy didn't answer for a moment, and Ed didn't need his vision to know that the colonel was trying to choose his words carefully. "…I don't know."

Ed smiled sadly. "I don't want to hear whether or not you know, I want to know what you think. You survived a war, you're used to this stuff. What's the worst case scenario?"

"I think we're living it." Roy replied wryly, but then immediately became serious. "To be honest, Fullmetal, I can't say either way. You're not stupid. You know that we don't have any medicine or proper medical supplies, and it's likely we'll die from infection or exposure soon if that continues to be the case. Ignoring the fact we could also easily suffer from starvation and, before that, dehydration, we also have a group of hardened criminals on our tail. I'd say at the moment, our chances aren't very good."

Ed looked at the ground, wishing he was able to see the frigid, melting snow instead of simply feeling it. "…That bad, huh?"

"Well, it's certainly not looking very good from where I'm standing." Roy responded gravely.

"…Mustang, how bad is the wound?"

Roy didn't even need to ask which one he was referring to. "I'm surprised you're still able to stand without screaming…But then, I'm surprised you're still able to stand at all."

Ed accepted this with glum resignation. A terrible thought briefly crossed his mind: what would happen to Al if he died? He shoved it away vehemently, knowing that he shouldn't sign his death warrant so soon.

A gunshot sounded, interrupting his thoughts. He stiffened, but realized instantly that it hadn't been nearby. Then a horrible thought occurred to him.

"_That bastard's never fully satisfied unless he gets to kill someone…"_

"…_With any luck, it will look like you overpowered me and cut yourselves lose, although I'm sure they won't trust me very much after this…"_

Could it…no, it couldn't…they wouldn't kill him, he was supposed to represent their employer, right? He was their connection to the military, and they'd said themselves they needed him-

"I think…we should press on." Mustang said finally. The way he said it instantly alerted Ed to the fact he had been thinking the same thing.

"Was that…?" Ed couldn't finish.

"I don't know. We can't go back to check either. They'd expect us to do that, and it's too dangerous."

Ed felt tears trail down his face, which cooled almost instantly. A moment later he heard the crunch of footsteps, and then unexpectedly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going to carry you across." Mustang's voice made it clear he wouldn't take any protest, but he sounded…almost pitying. Ed hated when people pitied him.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. Now shut up and get on my back."

And so, for the second time that day, Roy Mustang won an argument. Not that it mattered. And not that he'd ever lost any, of course.

--

Considering their current predicament, Roy couldn't help but think they had been strangely fortunate. They were still alive, still able to walk, still eluding the gangsters, and now they'd found shelter. An old cottage, one that looked vaguely familiar to Roy but that he didn't actually recall ever seeing before. Then again, the whole unexpected trek through the woods had been that way. As a child, he'd often gone very far from town when playing. Although that was only one of the reasons Roy had known the trails so well…

Even if he'd never admit, Roy missed those carefree days before things had gone horribly wrong. But dead things were best left dead, and the past was over and done with. Something Roy was thankful for every day of his life, at least since he'd left New Red Point.

Ed had, surprising, been fairly amicable since Roy had told him about their chances. Sometimes Roy really didn't understand that kid, although he couldn't say he wasn't grateful. Trading insults with him was usually very entertaining, but Roy just wasn't in the mood.

"So…this is a cottage?" Ed asked, glancing in the general direction of the building. The teenager seemed to want Roy to describe everything as best he could to him, probably in case he had to perform a quick transmutation if something happened. The 'something' being the search party currently combing the woods and intent on killing them.

By this point, Roy could only assume they were mixed up in some sort of military conspiracy. The strange mission, the Fuhrer's insistence he leave as soon as possible, that convenient soldier who'd revealed himself just when they'd needed him…it all added up to something strange. But how had they gotten involved? Why now? If this was about the winter of 1903, surely-

"Mustang?" Roy was snapped out his musings by Ed's slightly irritated tone. Oh, right, he'd asked him a question. Roy snapped his fingers, an all to brief flicker of flames illuminating the weathered wooden building and the dusty windows.

Having made his verdict, Roy shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Does it really matter? What's important is that it hasn't completely fallen apart, and it's obviously uninhabited. Well, unless it's become common practice to leave the front door wide open and allow snow to drift in."

"Good enough for me." Ed replied happily. Honestly, the teenager was so agreeable it was starting to worry Roy.

The inside of the cottage wasn't bad. A bit run down, of course, but it could be worse. What made it even better was that, after setting Ed down on the nearest chair, Roy discovered two serviceable mattresses they could use, along with plenty of blankets and pillows. He naturally set up them up close together in what had been the living room, next to what had been the kitchen table. Both of the alchemists had agreed they would take shifts to make sure they wouldn't be caught off guard this time.

Completely spent, Roy pulled off his boots and allowed himself to collapse into the mattress, pulling the blankets over himself. He was so tired…but he couldn't fall asleep just yet. He'd agreed to take first watch. Reluctantly, the colonel threw back the covers and sat up again. It was pitch black, but he didn't dare light the gas lamp he'd found during his search.

"…Hey, Mustang?"

The sudden question startled him, but he recovered quickly. "Yes?"

A hesitant pause. "I really meant what I said you earlier. Thanks for…saving my life."

Roy sighed. So that was why he'd been acting so strangely. "You won't be thanking me when I wake you up for your shift in a couple of hours. Go to sleep."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Ed sounded just as sarcastic as he normally did, but the barely-held yawn that followed after destroyed his tough act.

It was a rough night. The blizzard outside couldn't seem to decide whether or not to dissipate or become even worse. The icy drafts made it difficult to stay warm, but they had enough blankets that they never stayed cold for too long. Hour after hour passed by, and every three or so they switched. There was nothing more painful then having to wake up constantly, but it was the best they could do. The alternative, sleeping through the night and allowing themselves to become completely vulnerable, was simply not an option.

It become such a habit to switch and fall asleep, wake up and wait three more hours, that they slept straight through the morning. The blizzard had made it impossible to tell what time it was, so when it finally blew over Roy barely realized near the end of his shift that they'd slept in. Checking his pocket watch, the colonel grimaced when he found it was nearly three in the afternoon.

He immediately set about trying to shake his teenage companion awake. "Hey, Fullmetal, wake up."

"Mmph…jus' ten more m'nutes…" Ed pulled his covers over his head, turning away from Roy's relentless urging.

Rolling his eyes, Roy grabbed the edge of the blankets and, with a sharp tug, pulled them off. "Rise and shine."

Ed hissed at the cold air, shivering, but nevertheless sat up and gave Roy the best glare he could muster. "…Why'd you do that?!"

But Roy had moved and was already rummaging in the nearby kitchen, trying to see if there was anything still edible left. "Because the day's already half over, and we need to get moving."

Ed blinked. "…What? But we haven't even had breakfast yet!"

"Well, we apparently won't be having it." Roy sighed, opening up the last remaining cupboard to find nothing but cobwebs and dust. "All the cupboards are empty."

"…You mean you can't find anything?"

Opening the refrigerator, Roy quickly closed it again and barricaded it with a kitchen chair, alarmed. He could have sworn something was **moving** in there. Gradually, he regained his composure. "Not even a crumb."

Ed sighed, running his fingers through his soot-streaked bangs. He hadn't realized how much he'd been depending on them finding something to eat. This would make the third meal he'd skipped, including lunch.

"I can melt some snow so we'll have something to drink." Roy said suddenly. "It might take a while though."

Ed licked his dry, cracked lips, suddenly discovering he was very thirsty. "Water sounds good."

He received no reply, but he heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Ed sighed, and set about finding his leather jacket, relying on touch alone. He'd been so tired the night before he'd thrown it on a nearby chair and fallen instantly asleep. He hadn't even bothered to undo his braid, which needed fixing.

Despite sleeping roughly six hours, Ed felt like he hadn't slept at all. His head was pounding, and he was freezing. He'd be willing to sacrifice another arm to get a cure for his headache.

Unsteadily getting to his feet and attempting to try and find the door, Ed nearly tripped on a dusty cloth of some sort. At that moment, the door opened again.

"Ed, what are you doing?" Roy sounded exasperated, and the distinct sound of sloshing water immediately caught Ed's attention.

"Nothing, I just tripped. Is that the water?" He asked hopefully. He heard the bucket being put on the ground.

"Yes. Did you trip over the tablecloth I left on the floor?"

Ed blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Table cloth?"

"It looked moth-eaten and filthy, so I took it off the table." Roy said simply, as way of explanation. After a moment, he finally admitted the truth. "…And I accidentally set part of it on fire when I was looking through the house earlier. I didn't want something half-burnt nearby while I tried to sleep."

Ed just gave him a look.

"It was dark." Roy said defensively. "Now, if you'll give me a minute, I'll get some more water. Trying to melt that much snow and then having to waste half of it **cleaning** the damn bucket means it takes a while."

"Have fun."

Now it was Roy's turn to glare. "You know, you could help."

There was a clap and a flash of blue light, and the scorched tablecloth disappeared to reveal a familiar red coat, which Ed immediately put on.

Ed grinned. "There, I helped clean up. Now I'm going back to sleep."

Just as he was about to do just that, Roy grabbed his left arm.

"No, you're going to-" Roy stopped his tirade abruptly. Removing his hand, he took off his glove as Ed blinked in confusion, and placed it on the teenager's forehead. Ed moved away from him quickly, but it made no difference.

Swearing, Roy punched the wall and sat down heavily in the nearest chair, his face half covered by a hand.

"…Mustang?" Ed asked tentatively, wondering he'd gone a bit too far this time.

"You have a fever."

Ed frowned. "…What?"

"Your wound must be infected. Dammit, I should have cleaned it out before I bandaged it! I might have been able to stop it!"

Ed fought to keep calm. Infection wasn't a good sign, especially considering they had no way of combating it. Not now, not here. "Is there anything we can do to stop it or prevent it from spreading? Like…cauterization?"

"Cauterization wouldn't stop the infection. I'd only use cauterization to stop the blood flow, and even then I'd hesitate. It would make your infection worse, Ed, not better. You might even get a secondary inflection in the process, and then we'd really be in trouble."

"Alright, then what do we do?" Ed said, unable to keep the panic out of his voice.

Roy got up and grabbed the bar of soap he'd found in the washroom the day before, washing his hands in the water. So much for all that work he'd done earlier; now he'd have to do it all over again.

"Let me see the wound." Roy didn't have much in the way of medical training, but he needed to know what he was up against. Ed quickly pulled up his tank top and starting fumbling with the bandages. Eventually, it became evident that he needed help, and Roy stepped in to help peel the blood-soaked bandages away. Ed winced, but grit his teeth and bore it.

Faint red lines were radiating from the festered, discolored wound, which was oozing a small amount of pus. The area surrounding the large gash practically radiated heat. Roy knew right away the wound was infected.

Roy sighed. "It takes rough twenty-four hours for infection to set in. And I'm no doctor, but I can recognize infection when I see it."

Ed swallowed nervously. Something about the way Mustang said it put him on edge. It wasn't that bad, was it? He was too scared to ask. He could hear Roy get up, and rummage around for a few minutes. When he came back, Ed nearly jumped when he felt Mustang poke him with something.

"Relax, Ed, this is just a pen. I want to see how far the infection spreads later, and how quickly, so I'm marking where it is now." That seemed like a good idea, so Ed nodded and allowed him to finish circling it.

There was a sigh. "I'm going to get some more water, so I can clean this wound out and we can both get something to drink. We're leaving in half an hour. I'll need you to transmute more bandages for the both of us. Can you do that?"

Ed slowly nodded. "…Yeah I think I can handle that."

--

They'd been walking for quite some time now. Or rather, Roy had been walking for quite some time. After becoming aware of Ed's fever and then infection, Roy had insisted that he carry the teenager, at least for a while longer. He didn't have much of a choice. The wound was so bad now thanks to the wear and tear of the past hours that Ed couldn't stand up without hurting himself further. Not to mention the ever present cold, which wouldn't help the fever.

The weather had once again grown worse. Angry dark clouds hung ominously in the horizon, and Roy knew they'd probably have another storm soon. How far had they traveled? At least three miles, Roy ventured to guess, but he couldn't tell. That would mean only ten or so left to go until they reached North City…if they reached North City.

Ed had fallen into a deep sleep, occasionally murmuring something unintelligible but staying silent for the most part. Roy had noticed him getting hotter, which he considered a mixed blessing. It showed that the infection was growing worse, but at the same time it meant Ed wouldn't freeze to death.

Roy sighed, having come to yet another dead end, this time a rather impressively steep drop. He was sure there was a path around it somewhere, but the location was eluding him at the moment. The sun was setting; they needed to find a camp of some sort again soon, although Roy knew they probably wouldn't be lucky enough to find another cottage.

"…Al? Why is it so dark?" Roy blinked, glancing back and seeing Ed look around bewilderedly. The cloth over his eyes made it impossible to tell if he was asleep or awake.

"Ed? Are you awake?"

The effect this had on Ed was instantaneous. Slowly he turned his head to face Roy, with such a frightened expression on his face that it sent chills up the colonel's spine.

"Ed, it's me, Roy Mustang." Roy said gently. "You remember me, right?"

"Where's Al?"

Roy hesitated. Something about this didn't feel right. "He's not here."

"…What did you do with him?" Ed's tone sounded low and dangerous.

Roy frowned. "What do you mean 'what did I do with him'? I didn't do anything to him. Ed, you're sick, and we're on the run from a couple of psychotic criminals…not to mention we barely survived a train wreck."

"I don't believe you. What did you do with Al?"

Roy's temper was rising. "I told you, I didn't do anything-"

A solid blow to the back of the neck nearly knocked the wind out of him. Dropping Ed, he massaged the area tenderly, wondering what had earth had brought that on. Looking up and prepared to snap back with a sarcastic remark, he was caught off guard by a swift kick to the jaw.

Falling back hard against a nearby tree, he hissed in pain, wiping the blood off his now bleeding lip. How had the kid managed to move that fast, in such bad condition? No sooner had he done this when he saw a fist hurtle towards him. Ducking, he managed to snap his fingers. A brilliant tongue of red flame shot out towards Ed immediately, racing past his face mere inches from his skin, in an attempt to scare the blonde off and buy time. No such luck.

"Ed, I don't want to fight you-" Roy began.

"The hell you don't!" Ed snarled, lunging at him. Despite his speed- one thing he definitely did have in advantage to Roy- his moves were easily countered and uncoordinated.

The ferocity behind them was incredible, however. Roy had no choice but to continually snap his fingers, trying to encircle Ed in a wreath of fire to contain him. The snow made it impossible to do much else, and Ed was in a bad enough condition that Roy didn't want to try doing anything that might hurt him further. But even fire didn't daunt the teenager the least bit. He pressed on regardless, even when his new coat caught fire and he was forced to abandon it.

Roy was quickly running out of options. Ed was tiring fast, but at this rate Roy didn't want to count on that. So he went for the only thing he could think of: an appeal to reason. Blocking another blow, Roy somehow managed to twist his arm behind his back and pin the other to his side. They were perilously close to the cliff, but Roy knew this might be his last chance.

"Why do you think I'm an enemy? Ed, I'm trying to help you. Remember? Please, even if you don't believe me, you have fever and it's probably-"

A sharp kick to his shin and then a barely dodged automail hand interrupted him, and Roy was forced to pull back, accidentally pulling the cloth from over Ed's eyes off in the process. He had no choice but to let Ed go, and was just about to resort to desperate measures, when Ed clapped his hands together. Before Roy could blink, there was a flare of blue light and Ed's automail blade was poised inches from his throat. Roy froze, knowing that in Ed's state of mind and health he could easily slip and…that would be the end of the colonel.

Ed was panting heavily, his sides heaving with the effort. Their short battle had taken a toll on him, and he was barely able to stay standing. But his eyes were sharp; keen with terrible hatred. The light almost made them appear blood red. The eyes of a killer.

"Please, Ed, don't do this. One snap of my fingers, that's all it would take. I could fry you to a crisp before you could breathe." Roy said darkly. The hard eyes only narrowed, and the blade held to Roy's throat pressed a bit deeper. Blood trickled down the sharp edge, gleaming perversely in the light.

Roy had always thought well of Ed, even if he'd never shown it. The colonel had stuck out his neck for him more times then he cared to admit. A weakness like that was one he couldn't afford, one that could be easily exploited by enemies. But he'd thought himself safe, because he knew Ed could take care of himself. Roy was there to help the teenager when he needed it, but he wouldn't coddle him. Ed would have to find his own way, make his own decisions, and lead his own life. Roy could never interfere too much, never risk himself; otherwise he could never atone for his crimes.

He'd broken those rules a few times, of course. It was strange, how such things as trying to redeem yourself and saving a life, could be both egotistic and altruistic at the same time. The solution was obvious: he had to protect himself first. If that meant killing Ed, he would have to do it. For both selfish and unselfish reasons.

But yet, though his fingers were poised to snap and every instinct he had was screaming at him to do it, Roy couldn't. It wasn't logical, and it wouldn't matter in the end if Ed died anyway from infection, but he just couldn't.

Ed wasn't family, wasn't a friend, wasn't even really much of an acquaintance. And he was most definitely not a son to him, not by any stretch of the imagination and no matter what anyone said.

But he was the closest thing Roy had.

His fingers loosened, and his hand fell back to his side. He had to defend himself, and he had to live, but he couldn't kill Ed.

Mercifully, the eyes lost their harsh quality and cloudiness, and slowly widened as Ed once again returned to the land of the living. The blade carefully removed itself from his throat, and Roy swallowed, flinching when the cut protested loudly. Ed continued to step back, shaking and looking terrified. His legs gave out, and he fell back into the snow.

"Colonel…I-"

A loud cracking sound cut him off, almost echoing in the crisp winter air. Roy could feel the ground beneath him shifting, and before either of them could as much as move, it was falling. Roy tried to grab onto the edge, but he was too slow, and only managed to slice his hands on the sharp rock. One of his gloves caught on the cliff and came off, and he had only a brief millisecond of overwhelming fear before he fell. His head hit something hard, and he blacked out.

--

Since I didn't really leave you guys on a cliffhanger last chapter, I'd figure I'd do it for this one instead! It even features a cliff this time! :D

A couple people have noticed so far that the names of the criminals sound familiar. That's because I based them on actual gangsters from back in the early 20th century, just as I took 'Goshawk' from a type of aircraft carrier to fit the naming conventions Arakawa has for military characters. The surname 'LeMat' is from a type of gun.

More Hawkeye and Al next chapter, I promise! :)


	6. Mind Games

**Author's Note:** Wow, that last chapter went fairly quickly…I guess I've been in a good writing mood lately! :D Although the body count in this story is really high already…I shudder to think what it will be by the end of it. Speaking of amazing amounts of numbers, I know I said this before but I'm REALLY surprised with all the positive feedback this fic has gotten! Thank you! :D

I also managed to get another really, really good idea for a Parental!RoyEd fic. I still need to find a title for it, but maybe once I do I'll post it up. Not that I need another story to work on…-- Anyway, give a big hand to **Cold-Foxx**, who has helped me so much when it came to proofreading this chapter! :D

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Six: Mind Games**

What were the chances?

For a moment all Ed could do was sit there, barely able to grasp that not only had he nearly killed his superior officer, but said man had just apparently fallen off a cliff. Ed had heard a strangled gasp from Mustang, which had been interrupted abruptly as he had the ground yanked out from underneath him.

But Ed hadn't fallen. Cautiously extending an arm to feel around, the teenager realized the cliff had broken off a mere metre from where he'd been sitting. He'd been lucky. Apparently, Mustang hadn't.

If it had been any other time, Ed could have appreciated the irony of the situation. As it was, he was too busy trying to keep himself from giving in and having a panic attack.

_How…How could anyone survive that?_

Truth to be told, Ed couldn't recall much past when Mustang had told him his wound was infected and they'd set out earlier that afternoon. And then waking up and wondering where his brother was…everything after that was choppy and hard to remember.

Which was, in some ways, a good thing. What little he'd managed to piece together so far made his blood run cold. Ed knew he hadn't killed him, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hear Mustang panting. But…dammit, this was too much to take in! What the hell was he supposed to do?!

_I've got to find him…make sure he's still alive…and if he isn't, at least give him a respectful burial…_Ed thought numbly. He couldn't bring himself to think of what would happen if Roy wasn't alive. Because then he would have been responsible for his death.

Tears welled up, and Ed roughly rubbed them away, fighting the urge to sob. Gritting his teeth against the pain- both emotional and physical- Ed managed to grab his coat and the blindfold. Tying the latter back on immediately, he didn't allow himself to dwell on the obvious association it had with Mustang. Time was of the essence; for all he knew the colonel was badly hurt and inches from death.

At least, he preferred to think that. Then Mustang would still be alive. Finding him in much better condition wasn't very likely.

Standing up, Ed took hesitant baby steps to the edge of the cliff, stopping when his foot met nothing but air. Sitting down, he cautiously stretched out one leg, and was relieved when he found a foothold.

Keeping a firm grip on the cliff edge, he lowered himself down to another foothold, and slowly and steadily began the long climb down. The wind was whistling loudly in Ed's ears, simultaneously pounding him with snow and threatening to make him slip and fall down his death.

Something soft suddenly smacked him in the face, and Ed paused momentarily to pull it off. It was one of Mustang's gloves, judging by the feel of it. Ed's hand closed tightly around it, a sad look briefly crossing his face. Then he carefully tucked it into one of his pockets, and resumed his descent down into the swirling white depths of the blizzard.

--

"Two tickets for North City, please." Riza said firmly to the clerk at the desk, Noticing how his eyes focused on Al. He hurriedly scrambled to comply, adverting his eyes fearfully.

"Alphonse! Lieutenant Hawkeye! What a pleasant surprise!" Both Al and Riza looked up at the familiar voice, and found a jubilant Maes Hughes strolling towards them with a big grin on his face.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes…what are you doing here?" Al asked, blinking. Riza simply turned to pick up their tickets.

"Well, I heard that you were worried about Roy. So, I figured I'd come along with you guys to make sure everything was okay!" He said, all the while gesturing excitedly in typical Hughes fashion.

"Who told you that?" Riza asked, looked less than thrilled. She liked Hughes, but being shown the same pictures of his daughter over and over again was enough to drive anyone insane.

His grin turned mischievous, and he inclined his head slightly. "Well…"

Riza looked to the side, suddenly noticing the three men standing behind the lieutenant colonel. Breda, Falman and Fuery gave her sheepish looks.

"Sorry, he…uh…well, we couldn't just sit around all day flipping through photo albums of his daughter if you were in mortal peril or something like that…" Breda said awkwardly.

Riza resisted the temptation to smile. So that's why they'd come. Trust Hughes to inadvertently (or at least, Riza **hoped** it was inadvertent) blackmail her fellow subordinates. Still, it was touching to think they cared…even if the alternative option hadn't exactly been very pleasant.

"On a more serious note," Hughes said gravely, interrupting her musings. "I did some research before I left, and found that Roy and Ed's train hasn't arrived yet. It's far behind schedule. Supposedly, they haven't been able to contact the train since it reached its last checkpoint shortly after lunch."

Riza lowered her eyes. "I see. So something has happened…"

"I don't know for certain, but yes, there's a good chance." Hughes replied, checking the nearby departure times. "The four of us should probably get tickets, and then board the next train with you and Alphonse to North City. I don't know how much good it will do, but it's worth a shot."

"So you're coming with us, Mr. Hughes?" Al asked, polite despite his anxiety.

He smiled. "I think I'm the sort of person you need to bring along on a wild goose chase like this. Roy would do the same for me, anyways. Now, I can't speak for everyone else…"

"We're coming." Fuery said determinedly, to the surprise of all present. After a moment, Falman laughed.

"Yeah, count me in also. Mustang would do the same for us as well, so it's the least we can do."

Breda rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Aw man, Central would be so boring if I decided to stay. I guess I'll tag along too."

This time, Riza couldn't hide a slight smile. They were all good men…no, good friends of Mustang. Friends that Mustang would need. They were all in this together from now on, come hell or high water. And the first lieutenant wouldn't have had it any other way.

A whistle drew there attention, and as Al turned to glance at the approaching train, silently praying that whatever had happened, Ed and Roy were still okay.

--

It was the persistent, throbbing ache that forced Roy to regain consciousness. Groaning, he gentlely touched his forehead, wincing when he pulled his hand away and saw it was covered in blood. Well, at least that explained the pain.

Sitting up, Roy was surprised to find that the cut on his forehead was the only real injury he'd gotten from the fall, not counting a few bruises. He distantly realized he had landed on a large snow bank, probably a result of the wind currents near the cliff. He was extremely lucky; a fall like that would have killed him under normal circumstances.

But then he looked up, and felt all his relief quickly fade away. The cliff loomed over him like a monolith; cold, treacherous, and entirely unforgiving. He couldn't even make out the top, thanks to a blizzard that had started while he'd been unconscious. It left him barely able to see twenty feet in front of himself. Though certainly not for the first time in his life, Roy felt despair rise up and snatch away his confidence. He could scarcely even conceive of attempting something as foolish as trying to climb it.

His eyes widened as a thought suddenly occurred to him. _Ed! Oh hell…he's up there freezing to death and possibly under the influence of another one of those damn fever hallucinations, and I'm sitting here as if I had time to waste!_

Managing to stand up, Roy swayed on his feet for a moment as his head swam and his vision blurred. Thankfully however, it subsided quickly, and he shielded his eyes against the snow as he attempted to get a better idea of how far up it really was.

"Nice to see you again, Roy Mustang. You've grown into a fine military dog…a fitting occupation for a coward like you."

Mustang stiffened, looking around to find himself staring at a gaunt, frost-bitten man who looked strangely familiar. Everything about him seemed to convey a sort of desperation, from his tattered, dirty clothes to his wild and greasy brown hair. But it was his eyes that gave Mustang pause. Impossibly black, without a flicker of human compassion…or a sign that the man had any soul at all.

"I'm afraid my memory isn't what it used to be." Mustang replied coldly. "I don't recall having ever met you…perhaps you would care to refresh my memory?"

Mustang knew he should have been grateful to have met another person, but something about this man unnerved him, made him wary. It wasn't even something he could narrow down; just a gut instinct honed from a lifetime of pain.

The man laughed, a cruel sort of barking sound that echoed harshly against the towering cliff. "I'll be damned. And here I thought I'd left a lasting impression. Now you've made me very cross indeed, because I hate repeating myself."

"Then we have nothing further to discuss." Roy replied curtly, turning back towards the cliff. The sooner he could get back to Ed and away from this strange man, the better.

But unbeknownst to him, the man had a thoughtful rather than angry expression on his face. "So you really don't remember. That's a shame. You weren't that young, probably no older than that little blind runt that follows you around."

Roy stopped, carefully schooling his expression into an unreadable mask as he turned to face the other man again. "You've been following me."

The man grinned, exposing an assortment of rotten teeth. "You could say that. But I'm not one of those brainless thugs that have been trailing you for the past day or so."

Roy tensed. "…Who are you, really?"

"You know, come to think of it, I like that boy." The man said thoughtfully, a lazy smile flitting across his face. "He has have a lovely scream, I'm sure of-"

"**Don't you dare touch him**!" Roy snapped, his expression disgusted and his fingers poised to snap.

Faster than Roy could blink, the man was inches from his face with a knife pressed against his throat. His expression of gleeful satisfaction sent chills down Roy's spine, and he pressed the blade against his throat harder until blood began to trickle down. The colonel stumbled back a step, mentally cursing himself afterwards for showing weakness. But…surely it wasn't humanly **possible** for someone to move that fast!

"You may call me Cacodaemon for now." The man said simply, stepping back with an even wider grin on his face. "I know everything; the past, the present, and the future. And your future isn't pretty, Mustang."

Roy grit his teeth, trying to hold back his frustration and confusion and failing miserably. "What the _**hell**_ are you talking about?"

"I wonder what your little friend would think if he knew the truth behind 'that incident' in the winter of 1903. Disgusted, I'd venture to say, that a sixteen-year-old boy could sink so low."

"_I want you to leave, to save yourself…there's nothing left for you here now, and I can't take care of you…"_

"_There's that half-Xingese freak! Who's crying now, you bastard?! Always acting like you're some sort of equal to us, instead of the trash you __**really**__ are!"_

"_I'll kill every last damn person in this town if you don't, so I'd recommend following my advice and telling me where the hell you've hidden it."_

"_Listen carefully Roy, there's something important I need to tell you. Something that may be the key to your salvation in the future-"_

Roy felt his knees buckle out from underneath him, and he feebly clutched his head and desperately tried to will the memories away.

"It wasn't my fault…I didn't-"

"You didn't what? Care enough? Stop to think, to try and save something besides your own skin?" The man known only as Cacodaemon taunted.

"Shut up! I didn't have a choice!"

"You just keep telling yourself that, Roy Mustang. One day you'll realize you can't hide from the truth forever…and when that day comes, I'll be ready to drag you to hell with me."

"No…I'm not…I wasn't…"

He sank into the snow, the emotional and physical fatigue finally catching up with the colonel. Cacodaemon kept his mouth blessedly shut, allowing Roy to pretend for a brief second that he hadn't seen his moment of weakness. Roy's arms were shaking, though if from cold, exhaustion or fear Roy wasn't too sure of at the moment.

How long he'd lain there, Roy couldn't tell, as he allowed the snow to slowly bury him. At first he fought against the feeling of helplessness, but then eventually gave up. Roy just didn't want to have to keep remembering. His closed his eyes, allowing his exhaustion to leisurely drag him down into the depths of sleep.

"…Mustang?"

There was the thud of something heavy dropping to the ground near him, followed by the sound of something shuffling through the snow. Roy opened his eyes again, wondering for a moment if he was hearing things.

"…Mustang, are you okay? If you are, say something! Please don't be dead…" Roy became acutely aware of the fear and anxiety in Ed's tone.

The shuffling sound continued, until Roy felt fingers touch his shoulder. Turning his head, he found himself looking at a scared-looking Edward Elric. How had he climbed the entire way down the cliff, while injured and suffering a fever?

"…Mustang?" Roy was astonished by the raw emotion in Ed's voice, rendered temporarily speechless. The kid looked like he was about to cry, and Roy was staggered at how much guilt and pain was present in his expression.

Startling the colonel, Ed suddenly let out a frustrated yelp, grabbing hold of his coat. Roy blinked, confused by his actions.

"It's all my fault!"

_He can't see I'm alive!_ Roy realized. Hesitantly, Roy put one arm around his subordinate. "Ed…I'm okay. I'm still alive. You just…surprised me."

"Y-you're still alive?" Ed looked up, a surprised expression ghosting across his tear-streaked face.

Roy smiled. "I'm just fine."

Instead of comforting Ed as Roy had intended, it appeared to have the opposite effect. Ed looked down guiltily. "I…"

"It was just the fever, and I know that." Roy replied, tone clipped. "It's nothing, forget all about it."

"But I nearly killed you!"

"Ed-"

"I don't care if it was the fever! What if it happens again?! What if-"

"Fullmetal, **calm down**." The authoritative tone in Roy's voice stopped Ed dead in his tracks, and he immediately quieted down, half-fearful he'd crossed some sort of line.

Roy knew as soon as he saw Ed's panicked expression that he'd said the wrong thing. Words weren't enough; he had to find someway to show Ed that he wasn't angry. But how could he do that if Ed was blind?

So Roy did the only thing he could think of. Sitting down and repressing a pained yelp, he lightly put a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Let's get going."

"W…what?"

Roy let go, but helped the teenager to his feet. "I need to tell you something…once we find some place to stay for the night."

Ed opened his mouth, about to ask what exactly he meant, then shut it abruptly.

Looking up, Roy suddenly remembered something, taking off a glove and feeling his neck. It felt sticky; there was a small cut, exactly where he remembered Cacodaemon pressing the knife, right underneath the wound Ed's automail blade had inflicted. He froze and shakily put the glove back on.

_Was…was that a dream? Was I hallucinating? Or…did it really happen? I could have cut myself during the fall…_

Roy couldn't help but feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up

He didn't dare let himself continue that train of thought. The colonel focused on trying to remember exactly where they were, realizing they must have saved at least a day's worth of traveling by taking the 'short route' down the cliff. That was good, the sooner they got to a doctor, the better.

Roy hoisted him onto his back, grunting at the added weight. Going almost a day and a half without food wasn't helping his strength.

"Roy…I'm tired…" Ed said hazily. Roy blinked at Ed's use of his first name and the uncommon admission of weakness. _He's sicker than I thought…_

"Don't fall asleep. We'll stop to camp for the night soon." Roy said firmly. He knew all too well what happened to people who fell asleep in cold like this.

Ed yawned, but tried his best to keep his eyes open. "Can we get something to eat too?"

The effect this had on Roy was immediate, as Ed felt him tense. "I don't think we'll find anything to eat out here for miles besides the odd scrawny rabbit, Ed. At least…I couldn't, when I tried."

Ed frowned at this cryptic remark. What exactly did he mean by 'when I tried'? Had he…no, that couldn't be it…Roy had said he'd lived here. Surely he'd know something like that anyway. Still, the thought nagged at Ed, and refused to leave.

--

It was easy enough to set up camp. After having Ed transmute a few tarps, a gas lantern, blankets and some rope from nearby fallen trees, Roy proceeded to tie them securely to four trees. A snap of his fingers later, all the snow inside had completely evapourated, and they had a makeshift but serviceable tent.

"That's…pretty impressive." Ed said, testing to make sure none of the tarps would come loose.

"The second most important rule of being a soldier: Always know where and how to set up a tent." Roy replied, double-checking one of his knots.

Ed sighed, grateful that Roy couldn't see him in the pitch-black darkness of the tent. It leveled the playing field a bit.. "Okay, I know you want me to ask this, so I'll humor you. What's the first rule?"

Roy actually grinned. "Never miss a meal, because you'll regret it later when the enemy targets the supply routes."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Don't mention food. If I don't eat something by tomorrow, I might get desperate enough to eat you."

There was a short pause- probably for dramatic effect, considering this was Roy Mustang.

"No, I don't think I'd taste very good. Too tough." Roy said, his tone amused but with an odd edge to it.

Ed raised an eyebrow, and then remembered what the colonel had told him just before they'd started on that train ride from hell…something about missing lunch. If Ed was right, the colonel had gone a lot longer without eating then he had.

"Hey, Ed…you don't know what Goshawk meant when he mentioned the winter of 1903, right?" Roy asked quietly.

Ed blinked, surprised that Roy was choosing to tackle the subject. "No, I already said I didn't. What did he mean by that, anyway?"

Roy sighed. "Good. It was…something that happened a long time ago. Something I was involved in."

Ed gave him a peeved look. "I'm not a kid, so don't treat me like one."

Roy smiled sardonically. "Ed, I'm not purposely patronizing you. It's not something anyone likes to talk about, let alone adults."

_Let alone me,_ Roy added silently to himself.

Ed was tempted to tell him to stop beating around the bush, but barely managed to stop himself. "So, what happened?"

There was another pause. "…It's hard to explain. It sounds…strange to say it, strange to think of living through something like that. I can't remember much of it. All you need to know is that I'm the only survivor…well, the only sane survivor."

"_Father's dead…Mother's dead…Sister's dead…They're all dead…Everyone's dead…Charlie's the only one left now…"_

Ed felt a chill go down his spine, but stubbornly ignored it. "So that's all you're going to tell me?"

Roy sighed. "Yes, that's all I'm going to tell you for now. When we get to North City, I'll have you talk to my aunt. She knows as much about it as I do…maybe more, considering she was the one reading the newspapers when it happened."

Ed gave him a surprised look. "Your aunt?"

Roy snorted. "Of course. I do still have living family members, believe it or not. I haven't seen her in years, but I'm sure she's still alive and doing very well. She's a nurse, which makes paying her a visit even more convenient. I think she married a few years ago…"

Ed blinked, not too sure how to take this new revelation. It had never really occurred to him before that Mustang might have had an aunt…but then, he'd never really thought of Mustang as having a mother, or a father, or a brother either.

That last thought made Ed feel a pang of guilt, as he remembered Al. He was probably worried sick about him.

"We should sleep." Mustang said suddenly, and Ed felt a blanket land in his arms.

It wasn't thick enough to help keep him warm, not nearly thick enough. Ed frowned. "We'll freeze to death out here if we don't light a fire."

"I'd rather freeze to death in my sleep then die slowly and painfully from a bullet hole to the stomach." Roy answered smoothly. Ed had to admit, he had a point there, though the alchemist would never confess that out loud.

There was a moment of blissful silence, and Roy gradually felt himself start to drift off-

"Hey, Mustang?"

Roy opened his eyes tiredly, barely able to reply. "What?"

Ed steeled himself. Drastic times called for drastic measures. "…Don't take this the wrong way, but can I sleep next to you?"

Roy sighed. He wasn't exactly warm either, although the colonel wasn't thrilled by the idea.

"Fine."

There was the sound of movement, and then Roy felt rather than saw something curl up next to him, dragging a blanket over both of them. Roy could feel the freezing metal of Ed's automail, even through the blankets. A combination of the fever and the bitter cold was making Ed shiver furiously. Roy thought he could hear his teeth chattering.

A strange feeling of protectiveness came over Roy, and he silently moved an arm around the teenager, pulling him closer. Ed didn't protest, and instead leaned into the warmth. Roy allowed himself a soft smile, and then allowed himself to slowly fall asleep.

_Some Fuhrer I'll make…I'm sure this would count as a weakness…_

But for the moment at least, Roy didn't really care.

--

Well, a couple of you were wondering when we'd get to the part the summary described, so here we are :) I wonder how soon the gang will meet up with Roy and Ed though! Those two certainly need help…

Oh, and more random facts. I didn't just pull the term 'Mysterium Magnum' out of nowhere. It actually has a couple of associations, but I'll just mention a few. First off, it's Latin for "great mystery" and was an alchemical term that pretty much stood for the stuff that those four mystical 'elements' come from. And that's all I can say on that subject without getting into spoilers. It's also an euphemism for sacrament, which is basically a rite where Christians find spiritual grace through Christ (e.g. Baptism, Communion, etc.). Yay symbolism!

Chapter's shorter because I wanted to end on a positive note. And I'm not elaborating on what I mean by that ;D


	7. Lone Wolf

**Author's Note:** Well, I'm cold. Really cold. Which means I have a good idea how Ed and Roy feel! -shivers- But I've gotten over a hundred reviews! Thank you! :D

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Seven: Lone Wolf**

_It was dark. Why was it so dark? Roy couldn't remember…he couldn't remember anything, except that he had to get far away before they found him…_

**That's right…it's a new moon…**_ He realized. Those bloodthirsty wolves (Roy didn't dare admit to himself that they were human just like him) probably couldn't see in such dim light like this, but Roy knew they could also sneak up on him when he wasn't watching._

_The sixteen-year-old leaned against a tree trunk for a moment, breathing heavily. The bark felt soothingly cool on his flushed, bleeding hands. A temporary relief that would soon vanish when he started running again. How long had he been running? Did it really matter?_

_Roy heard something move in the darkness, and the unmistakable snap of a twig. His fingernails dug into the soft tree bark. Roy trembled in fear, knowing all too well what they would do if they caught him, exactly what they'd done to his little brother. He stayed as still as he could. Running wouldn't do him any good if he couldn't see._

_And then everything changed. The blackness swirled together, before melting away to reveal blinding colour. His eyesight was blurry, but soon cleared. He looked up to see a filthy, blood splattered concrete room. The harsh light of the torches cast a dim yellow glow, illuminating all sorts of strange metal instruments that lay strewn around. They glinting malignantly in the dull light._

_In short, the sight reminded Roy of what he'd always imagined a torture chamber should look like._

"_Against the wall, De Havilland! I want to show your superior officer the real meaning of war."_

_The words broke through the dull surprise Roy felt. He tried to move towards the voice, but quickly discovered rusty chains binding him to the stone wall. Desperation was replaced with fear; how had he ended up in such a horrible place?_

_Attempting to calm himself, he turned to look at the other side of the room and felt his heart stop momentarily. There he was; Michael De Havilland. Roy's Platoon Sergeant, and the last remaining vestige of his fellow comrades. More than a thousand men, all gone now thanks to that bloodbath of a rebellion._

"_Kill me, I don't care!" De Havilland snarled, the fear in his eyes betraying him. The man was being pinned down by at least two Ishbalans, another of which was fiddling with one of the metal instruments._

"_No, let him go! Kill me, I'm the one in charge of this battalion!" Roy yelled, once again pulling the shackles futilely. To his relief, the lone Ishbalan stopped and turned to regard him. He had darker eyes then most of the Ishbalans Roy had seen, the colour of dark burgundy._

"_Major Roy Mustang…also known as the Flame Alchemist, a military dog under the direct command of King Bradley. Joined the army at the age of twenty-one in 1908, after spending roughly four years at the Central Military Academy. No known living relatives, except an aunt in North City. Did I forget anything?"_

_Roy just glared, determined to give them the satisfaction of a reply. The dark-eyed Ishbalans pulled out a pocketknife, flicking it open. In one swift movement, he reached out and-_

_Roy winced, closing his eyes as he heard the last gurgling scream of his subordinate. Then De Havilland fell silent, and Roy knew without opening his eyes that the man was dead._

_The voice of the dark-eyed Ishbalan was so close it startled him. "You're too valuable at the moment, Mustang. We'll kill you later, after we're certain we've extracted every last bit of information from you. And I can guarantee it won't be pleasant."_

_Feeling as if it took every bit of his courage, Roy slowly opened his eyes. They widened as he found himself looking at Ed, the teenager's automail blade pressed against his superior's throat._

"_**I know what you did**__."_

--

Roy woke up, staring into the inky darkness for a few moments as he tried to separate fantasy from reality.

_Blindfolded…I was blindfolded. I never saw anything like that. So why is it so clear in my mind?_

He heard a groan and felt something shift nearby him, cold metal digging into his chest. Alarmed, he scrambled back and then tried frantically to untangle himself. Shivering as the blankets were pulled off of him, Ed opened one eye blearily and gave Roy a slightly annoyed look.

"Need sleep. Blankets, please." He croaked, not able to see Roy's distressed expression and snatching them back.

His hands clutching empty air, Roy slumped back against the cold tarp, exhaling mightily. He was a bit ashamed of himself, truth to be told. Having nightmares about being killed by someone thirteen or so years younger than you would have been quite a laughable concept to him, if it hadn't almost come to pass already.

_Get a grip, Flame!_ He mentally berated himself, _You have to be strong, you have to keep going. Otherwise both of you will end up dead…_

With that cheery thought in mind, Roy got up, and yanked on his tattered and dirty coat. Putting on his boots, he suddenly remembered the knife he'd taken from Goshawk. He'd stuffed it into his left coat pocket sometime after they'd escaped, and had completely forgotten about it.

Pulling out the pocket knife, he flicked it open and examined it. It had a polished hand guard carved from a dark wood. It wasn't very big, and Roy doubted it was even standard army issue. The blade gleamed dully in the dim light, and he smiled sardonically before snapping it shut again with a click. Moving to put it away, he stopped when a beam of light illuminated engraved words on the handle.

**To Daniel,**

**Hopefully you won't need this.**

**-Father**

An unnerving sensation overcame him, and he roughly stuffed it back into his pocket. Daniel Goshawk was probably dead, and for all he knew, the younger man might have needed it. And yet he had taken that knife without a second thought.

Morbidly, Roy couldn't help but wonder if he'd end up in the same position…just a name, some half-forgotten figure with a life and family of his own, but no one to remember who or what he really was.

Only without the family.

Without the father.

"Mustang? You alright?" Ed asked hesitantly, a strange feeling making it impossible to fall asleep again. Something was wrong with Mustang, although he'd known that since the train wreck.

Roy sighed. "Ed, if I had a sen for every time you've asked me that within the past two or three days, I would have been able to pay off those bastards tailing us and then hitchhike all the way to North City. In any case, I fail to see how I'm feeling is of any interest to you."

Ed's expression hardened, and he turned away. The teenager pulled more covers over himself, and moved farther from Roy. "Jeez…"

"Don't get comfortable." Roy said abruptly. "We should get going soon."

Ed grit his teeth, but surprisingly remained silent. A combination of guilt and apprehension that held him back, and the barely tangible suspicion that something **really **wasn't right. Something important. It made him nervous.

His right shoulder twinged, and Ed automatically reached up to rub it. Metal and flesh didn't exactly mix together all that well, especially in cold weather like this. Ed was surprised that he hadn't developed the beginnings of frostbite yet. Probably thanks to his fever…and Mustang.

"Fullmetal, could you try getting up sometime before the next century?"

Ed scowled, his normal opinion of Mustang reasserting himself, as he stood up and roughly shoved the covers into what he assumed was Roy's arms. Still, Ed knew he would have died ten times over without the colonel's help.

--

How long had they spent walking? Ed couldn't quite seem to remember. He'd insisted on walking again, but his head felt fuzzier than it had the day before, a sure sign that his fever was getting worse. Whereas before it had simply made it extremely difficult to think clearly and stand, he was now starting to feel sore, weak and uncomfortably hot. It took all of his strength just to keep himself from letting go and falling back into the snow.

But he didn't dare complain. Mustang's body language made it pretty obvious by this point that he wasn't in the most accommodating of moods, and although Ed wasn't exactly known for his restraint he knew better then to antagonize the older state alchemist.

Still, Ed rolled his eyes. _What the hell did I do to piss him off __**now**__?_

A rustling sound caught Ed's attention, and he stopped, puzzled. He couldn't hear anything else, though. Just the sound of the wind whistling through the trees and the occasional songbird.

"What's wrong, Fullmetal? Your short legs slowing you down?" Mild confusion quickly gave way to white hot fury, and Ed looked back at Roy immediately with metaphorical fire in his eyes.

"For the last fucking time, I'M NOT SHORT!" Ed snapped, his fury only mounting at the colonel's maddening smirk. Just because he couldn't see it didn't mean he still didn't know it was there.

"Of course you aren't." Mustang replied brazenly. "In any case, please try to keep up."

Seething and having completely forgotten the cause of Mustang's insult to begin with, Ed resumed walking. Unbeknownst to him, a grey-furred head peered over the log it had been hiding behind, gold eyes scanning the wood warily. The wolf lithely leaped over it once it saw the danger was past, staying closer to the ground this time and trotting quietly to a more secluded position.

Nearly tripping over a large branch in his path, Ed finally voiced a question that had been bothering him for quite a long time. "Why do you always bring my height up anyway? Don't you have any better insults, or are you even stupider than I first thought?"

Ed could only wonder what his expression was. Roy didn't even bother to answer, pushing a branch out of his way.

"I don't know…it's fun?"

"It's **fun**?" Ed said disbelievingly, stopping. His timing wasn't exactly ideal, as the branch Roy had held back hit him straight in the face.

Roy blinked when he heard a thud behind him, and turned to see Ed sprawled out on the ground, his hands covering his nose and an extremely annoyed expression on his face.

"Sorry." Roy said, though both of him knew he wasn't really apologetic. It all finally became too much for the teenager, and he forgot all his previous self-control.

"What the **hell** is going on with you? Did I say something to piss you off? or are you just being a bastard because 'it's fun'?!" He retorted angrily, his voice switching to a strangely accurate mimicry of Mustang's.

Roy just stared at him blankly, before turning and resuming his previous course. Ed sighed angrily, standing up again and quickly moving to where he assumed was in front of the colonel, narrowing avoiding colliding into a tree as he did it.

"Look, let's get a few things straight here before we end up killing each other. I hate your guts, and you hate mine. Alright?" Upon hearing no protest from Mustang, Ed resumed. "Unfortunately, since I don't want to die and I'm sure the feeling's mutual, whether or not I hate your guts really doesn't matter."

Roy's expression was unreadable, not that it mattered since Ed was blind. "Fullmetal, I didn't save your life just so you could lecture me."

"Then why **did** you save my life?" Ed shot back.

Now it was Roy's turn to sigh angrily, his voice raising slightly and becoming more irate. "This is getting old. Just because we're stuck out here in middle of hell doesn't mean we're automatically best of friends."

Ed's expression was steely. "So essentially, what you're saying is that it's every man for himself?"

"Yes." Roy replied simply.

"…I don't believe that."

Roy snorted, the bitterness and fear of the past days having long ago worn away his patience. "Oh really? Let's pretend I care for a moment, so I can humor you and ask why?"

"Because even you're not that big of a bastard." Ed replied firmly.

"I'm touched," Roy replied dryly, before his tone abruptly became serious. "But deluding yourself into believing that I can save you from anything isn't a good idea. Although it may have escaped your notice, I'm only human."

Ed mulled this over for a few minutes, and Roy thought that was that, but then the teenager spoke up again.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Roy managed a forced laugh. "No, I'm terrified."

Ed hesitated, feeling uncomfortable with Mustang's sudden confession. He quickly steeled himself. "Then…you're not going to leave me to die, but you can't promise that you can help me?"

Roy couldn't hold back a wry smile, wondering exactly when Ed had managed to turn a heated argument into such an awkward question. Well, he shouldn't really be that surprised; the kid hadn't survived this long on talent alone, after all. "Yes."

Ed looked away, a strange look in his eyes. "I can live with that, I guess."

Roy nodded, feeling distinctly like a very heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. As soon as he turned away, however, he found himself looking a snarling wolf, with fangs bared and fur bristling.

"Ed…stay back and don't make any sudden moves…" Roy said, stepping back a bit slowly himself, his eyes focused on the dangerous animal in front of him. He was so intent on watching the wolf, he didn't notice the low growls and sounds of other wolves moving through the snow.

"…Uh, Mustang…"

"Wolves don't normally attack humans in my experience, but we're wounded and he looks like he's been starving for quite a while…There's only one of him and two of us, however, so we might have a chance…"

"Mustang, I think you might want to revise those numbers..." Ed replied nervously. "Because it sounds like there are a lot more over here."

Against his better judgment, Roy looked away from the wolf in front of him. He realized at once they were encircled by five others, all of which looked equally thin and hungry and were approaching slowly but purposely.

Roy grit his teeth. "Dammit…"

Ed inched closer to him, nearly jumping when he heard one of the wolves growl. "You can just snap your fingers and scare them off, right? I mean, won't-"

Roy didn't look away from the wolves, the familiar sick feeling that always came before battles making him feel nauseous. "I don't think I can drive them off so easily. Winters can be pretty harsh up here, and they don't look like they've eaten in a while. You've fought chimeras before, haven't you?"

"Never this badly wounded and without Al." Ed replied, moving his hands to clap if the need arose nevertheless. "Do you think you could take them?"

Roy shook his head. "I think I'm still a bit dazed from that fall. It isn't exactly doing wonders for my eyesight, and I don't think I could move fast enough to get all of them anyway."

Ed tensed. "So…not great odds?"

Roy didn't even have time to answer him, as one of the wolves leapt, yellow teeth aimed straight at Ed's throat. Roy quickly snapped his fingers, and bright red flame engulfed the wolf. Roy managed to grab Ed and pull him down and out of the way, and then all hell broke lose.

All he could hear was the snarling, as sharp teeth dug into his arm and neck. Roy blindly tried to fight them off, punching and kicking as best he could, but felt them wretch Ed's arm from his grasp. Roy lunged, managing to scramble to his feet and snap his fingers, the wolf latching onto his arm howling in pain as the hot flame seared yellow eyes. The bone-crushing grip on his arm loosened, and the split second was all Roy needed to snap his fingers again and permanently render it harmless.

No sooner had he done so then another wolf jumped onto his back, teeth sinking deep into his shoulder as Roy cried out in pain, pinning him to the ground once again. Another grabbed his hand, pulling off and shredding one his gloves. Roy rolled over and heard a surprised wheeze, feeling the heavy weight on his back and the jaws on his neck suddenly disappear. Snapping his fingers and disposing of both wolves, Roy stood up quickly and saw something that made his blood run cold.

There was Ed, feebly kicking and punching as best he could, barely able to snatch a moment to transmute his arm into the signature blade. The wolves had dragged him to the ground as well, ripping and tearing at his clothes viciously. Roy snapped his fingers quickly, barely missing Ed by a few centimetres as the animals were instantly set on fire. Rushing forward, Roy grabbed the teenager by the back of his jacket and pulled him back away from the flames with the last of his strength.

Shaking with exhaustion and adrenaline, Roy slumped against a nearby tree trunk and tried to focus on slowing his breathing. He held Ed in a vice grip, feeling his heart skip a beat as he realized the boy was breathing very shallowly. He weakly maneuvered Ed into a more comfortable position and examined his wounds.

The wolves had predictably gone for the gash on his side, ripping the bandages and tearing at the infected wound. It make Roy sick to look at it, but he dutifully continued evaluating Ed's condition. A sprained wrist, one bite on his neck and flesh arm respectively, three on his flesh leg, and a hip Roy suspected was dislocated. The automail looked battered and scratched, but seemed relatively unharmed. Roy exhaled mightily, relaxing when he realized there was nothing fatal.

A sharp twinge on his shoulder made him wince, and he look over to see-

Roy closed his eyes quickly, feeling sweat trickle down his face. He…he needed a doctor. Soon. Very soon.

Roy reluctantly opened his eyes and looked again, then found it was just too much. Shoving Ed aside, he emptied what little remained in his stomach, feeling his throat constrict painfully. Whether from his earlier near suffocation or emotion, not even Roy could have answered.

His shoulder and part of his right arm had been **ripped** open, exposing a sizable amount of his collarbone. At least, that was the only way Roy could describe it without sending himself into dry heaves.

"…Mustang?" Ed's voice sounded hazy, but urgent. Roy looked back to see his eyes were half-lidded, and was startled when Ed sat up suddenly with a desperate expression on his face. "Mustang, you there?!"

"Yes, I'm here." He said hoarsely, his throat sore from the wounds he'd received.

They were both startled when they heard a sound somewhere between a bark and a snarl. Roy looked over to see a huge black wolf standing only two metres or so away. The colonel froze as the animal sprung at him, and Ed managed to move quickly to his feet, clapping his hands together.

It happened almost to quickly to process; a blue flash of light, Ed throwing himself at the animal, a nauseating slicing sound…and then it was over. Roy found himself staring at the corpse of the wolf, which had been neatly sliced in two.

The colonel's attention was quickly diverted to Ed, however, when the teenager fell to his knees panting and shaking. His shoulder wound protesting at the movement, Roy nevertheless forced himself to get up and crouch down next to him.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, though Roy of course already knew the answer.

"…No…Yes…I don't know. I feel-" Ed trailed off, sighing in frustration. "…it doesn't matter. At least it's over."

"A second later and I wouldn't be here talking to you." Roy observed. Ed knew it was as close to a 'thank you' as he'd get.

"Don't mention it." He murmured, the dizziness finally getting the better of him as he sank into the snow and closed his eyes. Ed had never felt more tired mentally and physically in his life; so much had happened, and all he wanted to do was sink into blissful oblivion.

Roy sighed, shaking his subordinate. "Ed, get up. Falling asleep isn't a good idea, and least not until we find somewhere to camp."

Ed didn't respond, and Roy didn't bother to pursue the subject further. To be honest, he felt just as exhausted as the teenager. He settled for placing the younger alchemist on his back again, grunting at both the pain and additional weight when he stood up again. Roy nearly fell over, but managed to regain his balance again and continued forward.

And so he walked, trailing blood as he went, barely noticing as the weather gradually changed from relatively clear and sunny to overcast. All too soon, the wind began to howl, tearing at his ragged uniform and pelting him with freezing snow.

But only one thing mattered anymore, getting to civilization and finding help. He was spent, his legs buckling and his arms sore. The wound on his shoulder provided an excellent distraction; the pain only seemed to increase as he went on.

It finally became too much. Roy stumbled, falling headfirst into a snow bank. He lay there for a few moments, before forcing himself to sit up. He couldn't stand anymore; his legs simply wouldn't straighten no matter how much he tried, and he fell over any time he tried to.

It was rather humorous, he supposed. Roy Mustang, renowned colonel of the Amestrian army, reduced to crawling along on all fours like an animal. Not to mention dragging along someone who would probably have relished his humiliation under any other circumstances.

But Ed was currently helpless and numb to the world, while Roy was all alone. A feeling he was used to by now, although that realization did nothing to curb the acute bitterness that left a bad taste in his mouth.

But of course he eventually collapsed. He knew he would all along, although Roy had tried to delay the inevitable. The colonel simply had no energy left, and found himself fatigued by actions as simple as moving his arm. Turning his head, Roy gazed dully at the tranquil expression on Ed's face. He didn't know he was going to die; that burden rested with Roy alone.

_You have to be strong, you have to keep going. Otherwise both of you will end up dead…_

Foolish words with only foolish optimism behind them. Roy had never been particularly good at saving people anyway, but it looked like this time he'd die trying. Nevertheless, a thought drifted across his tired mind, one that gave him pause.

_Just a name, some half-forgotten figure with a life and family of his own, but no one to remember who or what he really was…_

What if the same fate he'd assumed was slated for himself…happened to Ed?

Roy had never been a gushingly compassionate person. He'd always done his part to try and right the wrongs in the world, and perhaps bring some semblance of normalcy and happiness to those he could. He often failed, but his intentions were usually good…or so he hoped. Still, the thought pained him that there was nothing he could do. After all, Ed had a brother who would miss him.

Reaching out with one arm, Roy found himself frustrated with how agonizingly long it took to grab Ed's shoulder and pull him closer. It was a completely futile gesture, especially since both of them were probably about to die, but for once Roy let his emotions dictate his actions. If he was going to die anyways, Roy didn't mind sacrificing his pride if it meant he could feel somewhat vindicated. He couldn't save Ed from his fate, but at least…at least this way maybe Ed could feel he was safe.

The whole idea was ridiculous, of course. Ed wasn't aware of anything at the moment. That didn't stop Roy, though.

"Bye, kid." Roy murmured, burying his face into his arm to try and staunch the tears welling in his eyes. He couldn't let Ed see him cry.

Because, strangely enough, he missed it all. Missed teasing Havoc about his terrible luck with women, missed losing to Breda and Falman at poker, missed pretending to listen to Fuery as the younger man rambled on and on about the radio he'd taken apart the day before. Hell, he even missed being shot at by Hawkeye.

But then, he missed her most of all.

Roy smiled, feeling himself drift off slowly into blissful sleep. He'd give anything to see her smile again, as sappy as it sounded. He could hear a strange sound now…a sliding sound…and barking. A dog sled?

He closed his eyes, and knew no more.

--

Well…-coughs- Let's hope none of those wolves had rabies! I sincerely apologize for taking this long to update, and for not having much to say here, and for not replying to everyone last chapter (when I get time, I'll answer all of your questions, I promise!).


	8. The Circus of Five Elements

**Author's Note:** Hey, it's me again. I really have to hold back on this fic for awhile, because it's starting to affect my school marks, so there may be longer gaps between chapters. Sorry, school comes first.

In any case, I'm really surprised at the enthusiastic response I've gotten for this story! I just wanted to say that all the comments and constructive criticism is definitely appreciated, and I do have a plot in mind while I'm writing this ;D

**NOTE: I CHANGED MR. COLT'S NAME TO 'LEMAT', BECAUSE APPARENTLY THERE'S ALREADY A COLT IN THE FMA UNIVERSE…MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE NOVEL 'THE ABDUCTED ALCHEMIST' --**

_**By Chance Or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Eight: The** **Circus of Five Elements**

Roy opened his eyes, blinking sleepily for a few moments. He felt like he'd just woken from a bad nightmare, and just lay there for a few moments, grateful it was over. He felt surprisingly comfortable, considering the last thing he remembered was bleeding to death in the midst of a fierce blizzard.

"Am I dead?" He mused aloud to the ceiling, which he distinctly noted was completely different from the one in his bedroom back in Central. It reminded him more of…a tent?

There was a soft laugh from the side, and Roy said up quickly, tensing in preparation for conflict. However, his efforts were only rewarded by a violent dizzy spell that made his stomach churn queasily. His head pounding, Roy clutched his forehead and sank back unto the bed with a moan, his shoulder feeling like someone was slowly cauterizing it with a hot iron poker.

All to soon, an amused sounding voice spoke up. "No, you are not dead. Although, I suppose by all accounts, you should be. That is a nasty wound you have on your shoulder, you know."

Roy grit his teeth against the pain, knowing he had more pressing things to worry about then his own predicament at the moment. "Where's…Ed?"

"Do you mean Dao?" A face entered his field of vision, and Roy nearly fell out of the bed in shock at the proximity. An old woman? What on earth…?

Roy blinked, noting to his disbelief that she was Xingian. It wasn't an entirely uncommon occurrence for Roy to run into them, but it wasn't exactly something that happened to him every day. But Roy had no time to dwell on this interesting development; he needed to know whether or not Ed was still alive.

Although, at least he really **was** out of the storm. Roy's earlier guess had been right; he was in a large, sturdy looking tent, with a bare dirt floor. Strange patterns decorated the red walls; foreign characters Roy couldn't even hope to understand. The only other furniture he could see, besides the battered mattress he was lying on, was a small wooden dresser nearby and a few other unfamiliar looking objects.

Roy had just managed to shakily regain his footing when the woman beat him to his first question. "Is he a young teenage boy with braided blond hair, an automail arm and wearing a red coat?"

"Yes, Is he alright?" Roy asked anxiously, trying not to allow himself to dwell on the many possible outcomes that could have befallen his subordinate.

She looked conflicted, and averted her eyes, which was all Roy needed to know that Ed was far from alright. "Well, he is still alive…"

"And?" Roy prompted, barely able to keep the frustration from his tone.

She hesitated. "His fever has only gotten worse since we first found you. He'll be lucky to survive the night."

The effect this news had on Roy was immediate. Slumping back down on the bed, the colonel stared blankly at the floor. Ed wasn't dead, but from the sound of it he might as well be. After a moment he ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes and sighing in frustration.

"…If it comforts you to know this, he is in the hands of one of the best healers I know." She replied gently.

Roy gave her a terse smile. "Oh really, and who would that be?"

"Myself, of course." She replied, smiling at his raised eyebrow. Her smile grew wider as she saw the realization dawn on his face, and he had just opened his mouth when she spoke up.

"Yes, he is nearby. But I would recommend you rest that shoulder of yours before going to see him."

"It can wait," Roy replied impatiently. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"Though you have not even bothered to introduce yourself to me properly, you presume I'll let a seriously injured patient out of bed?" She pointed out.

He tensed, but upon seeing her stern expression wisely decided to lie back down. Roy turned his head away, attempting to rein in his emotions. Even a slim chance was better than no chance, he had to remind himself, and there was no helping the fact that he was hurt and needed rest. Though Roy hated to admit it, he **was** badly injured, and from a rational point of view shouldn't have considered even getting up.

...Screw rationality, he had to know Ed was alive!

A damp cloth on his forehead and a quiet voice in his ear pulled him out of his thoughts. "Since you seem to be quite antisocial at the moment, allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Tao Yin, a lowly healer of the humble Yin clan. You and your companion are now considered honored guests under the protection of the Wu Xing Ma Xi Tuan."

The Xingian name, though holding no intelligible meaning to Roy, sounded strangely familiar to Roy. "Wu Xing Ma Xi Tuan?"

She laughed. "You do not speak Xingian? How curious…I suspected as much, but I have never heard of one with his ties to home so cleanly cut. I suppose in the your language, it means 'Circus of the Five Elements'."

He frowned. "I don't understand, you mean-"

"That you have the privilege of receiving the hospitality of one of the finest traveling circuses in Amestris? Yes." Tao Yin replied cheerfully. "I would venture to say that you chose rather good company to impose on, my dear…?"

Roy blinked, then realized at once why she had trailed off. "Colonel Roy Mustang."

A strange look passed over her face, which abruptly became unreadable before Roy could identify it. "Mustang? It has been a long time since I last heard that name…"

Roy started, looking her straight in the eyes. "What do you mean?"

She sighed, and Roy finally placed the emotion in her expression: wistfulness. "I knew a General Richard Mustang. He was a very good man…a very good soldier."

Roy smiled grimly. "So you knew my father…Somehow that doesn't surprise me. He was always going off somewhere."

Tao Yin gave him a pointed look. "He was very fond you, Roy Mustang. Though you may not remember, this is not the first time we have met."

Roy stared at her, distantly realizing that she did look familiar. But only slightly…

_He peeked out curiously from behind his mother, listening to the laughter and lighthearted joking between the three adults. The old women happened to catch his eye, and smiled. Roy immediately looked away, feeling shy, not even meeting her eyes when she crouched down to his eye level. Still, he managed to sneak a furtive glance at her._

"_Hello, Roy. I can hardly believe you have grown so much! How old are you now?" He beamed at the compliment, suddenly feeling less shy than before._

"_I'm four!" He said, holding up five fingers. Tao Yin laughed._

"My parents knew you, didn't they?" Roy asked quietly, feeling a bittersweet pang from the blissful happiness in the half-forgotten memory.

The old women nodded. "Yes, a very long time ago."

The colonel was silent for a moment, a heavy feeling of sadness descending upon the room. He remembered her, he truly did, and if his parents had known he that meant she could be trusted…couldn't it? Roy hardly dared believe it, after the frantic pace of the past few days. Someone he could rely on…someone who could help them…

"Tao Yin?"

She looked at him curiously. "Yes?"

"…What was my mother's name?"

A soft smile. "A strange question indeed to ask under such circumstances…"

Roy focused his gaze on the dirt floor, a mask of indifference hiding his true emotions. "I've always known my father's name. I've spent a decade trying to live up to it. But my mother…I never knew her name. She never got a chance to-"

He stopped, cursing himself inwardly for giving that much of himself away. Since when had he become so weak?

But the old women just smiled that gentle smile. "Lian Wang. That was her given name, before she was married. It is ironic that you should want to know it; she always loathed it…though explaining why would only burden you with unnecessary questions."

Roy didn't say anything. Tao Yin sighed again, although there was a note of sadness to it.

"That boy…he is precious to you, is he not?"

Roy outright laughed, his shoulder protesting at the sound. "He's my subordinate. Everyone seems to think I'm his father…but we're not related by blood. We don't even get along, half the time."

Tao Yin looked pensive, and then shook her head. "No, you are not a father to him. Maybe some day…but not now."

Roy gave her a blank look. "What do you mean by that?"

The old women appeared deep in thought. "You are more like…good friends. No…brothers, I would venture to say."

Roy smiled sardonically. "I'm afraid that position's already taken…for both of us."

"You may find otherwise, Roy." She replied cryptically.

He heard the sound of a kettle whistling, and Tao Yin sighed, getting up and rummaging around outside of his line of vision. After a few minutes she came back, handing him a teacup filled with a strange milky-white brew.

"Drink it." She ordered. He complied absentmindedly, swallowing it in one huge gulp. It tasted creamy, and reminded him of…garlic? He nearly gagged, but managed to keep it down.

"That medicine I just gave you will help you sleep." She said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. "When you wake up again, I will let you see your companion."

Roy's hand clenched into a fist, holding the bedcovers in an desperately iron grip as he felt drowsiness numb his senses. _Please be alright, Ed. Please be alright…_

---

He listened to voices in the next room, carefully keeping the covers over his face. Even if that Tao Yin came in, she wouldn't be able to see that he was still awake.

Ed hadn't paid so much attention to the words as the comforting sound of their voices. They didn't really matter at this point anyway. He was either in heaven…or he was dreaming. Ed felt sore all over and so hot he was sweating, but the teenager was alltogether more comfortable then he had in days.

So peaceful…did he dream it all? Had the train crash really happened?

Ed allowed himself to close his eyes, relaxing. He didn't want to think…he just wanted to fall asleep.

"_You are more like…good friends. No…brothers, I would venture to say."_

Ed couldn't have disagreed with her more, but he fell asleep because he even had a chance to ponder it.

_He was somewhere familiar. Clocks…he was surrounded by clocks. Millions upon millions of clocks, all ticking in unison. The noise was deafening._

_Ed didn't even stop to question the fact how he could see. Reality and logic didn't apply here, something he knew without questioning. The thought didn't even cross his mind._

_And there he was, in the middle of it all. Amidst the barrage of ticking clocks, as if he had always been there and never truly realized it until then. Looking down, the alchemist saw at once that he was standing on the face of the largest and grandest of them all. He could see the elaborately-crafted second hand moving jerkily behind the glass, directly underneath his feet. He could here the tick, tick tick as second after second went by._

_Bending down, he touched the smooth surface of the clock face with his right hand, feeling the gently cool glass against his skin. He could even see his shadow, distorted as it was by the rounded shape of the face._

_He half-crouched there for what seemed like a century, a feeling insistently tugging at his mind. Something was off…something was different…_

I can feel my hand.

_The answer drifted across his mind, and his eyes widened. Lifting his hand away from the glass, he examined it closely. It wasn't automail…it was real flesh and bone. Belatedly, Ed also realized he also wasn't wearing his white gloves or red coat…and he was wearing an strange, long-sleeved shirt._

_A flash of something blue out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to look at it. Familiar dark eyes stared back at him, less hardened than he remembered them._

_He looked like a younger Mustang._

_Scarcely able to breathe, Ed tried to take his reflection in as dispassionately as was possible. A blue long-sleeved shirt made out of a stiff material and pinned in a manner similar to the military uniforms…a pair of matching dress pants tucked neatly into smart black boots…and long black hair tied back into a ponytail?_

_He reached back to touch it, and the younger Roy on the scattered glass clock faces mimicked his movements. There was no mistaking it now; it was definitely his reflection._

_He swallowed nervously._

"_Appearances aren't everything, Fullmetal."_

_Ed tensed at the familiar voice, and feeling of foreboding making him hesitate. turned around swiftly. It was an older him, dressed as he normally was, though strangely missing his coat …and completely drenched in what was unmistakably blood. Ed could only stare, and the other him grinned disturbingly._

"_A word of advice, kid: history repeats itself. Just thought you'd like to know."_

_The other, older him advanced closer, and Ed stumbled backwards in fright. Slipping on the polished glass, he yelped as he fell into cold, shadowy darkness..._

---

Riza surveyed the dining car by way of a subtle glance, committing the people and surroundings to memory with practiced ease. Dressed in casual civilian clothes, it was impossible to guess she was a top-notch sniper for the Amestrian military.

Which was exactly the appearance she had hoped to achieve.

Hughes had been the one to suggest it. Despite the fact they had as much right as any civilian to board the train, a large crowd all dressed in military uniforms (well, save Al, of course) attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Attention that could range anywhere from disdainful looks and whispered insults to outright confrontations and fights.

They didn't have time to deal with the infamous reputation of the Amestrian military. So, as suggested, they all split up into smaller, more inconspicuous pairs and changed into more casual clothing. After all, the main objective was to find Roy and Ed as quickly as possible, and Hughes' practical suggestion had only made it easier to do.

Thankfully the car was all but empty, save for Riza, Al and two men across the room who were whispering to each other and shooting Al the occasional nervous glance. Still, better safe than sorry.

"Umm…Ms. Hawkeye?" Al asked tentatively, gentlely trying to get her attention. Riza immediately turned to face him, smiling slightly at his uncertainty. It was as if he expected her to bite his head off.

"Yes, Alphonse?"

"Well…" He fidgeted nervously. "I was wondering when the train was going to get into the station…I kind of tuned Hughes out after he pulled out that album of his daughter…"

Riza laughed softly. "A few more hours, I'm afraid. Are you worried about Edward?"

Al looked away, and Riza's smile faded. As unemotional as he appeared to be, as he always was in that suit of armour, Riza knew that was exactly what he had been thinking. She sighed, knowing that her words had broken whatever lull of contentment had been there moments before.

"I'm sure he's alright. The colonel would make sure of that." She said, half-reassuring herself. Al nodded, but Riza could tell it was still bothering him.

She sighed again. _Colonel, you'd better not prove me wrong…_

Then a sudden shout drew her attention. Turning, Riza saw the same two men from before talking heatedly.

"…Don't tell me LeMat fucked up again! That bloody colonel should've died!" The larger one roared, slamming a fist down on the table so hard he made the silverware rattle.

The other, more nervous man cast a nervous glance around the dining car, furiously whispering "Shh…keep your voice down…someone might hear us…"

She frowned. LeMat…that sounded familiar…if he was the colonel they were referring to, Riza was sure she'd never heard the name around Central before. Could they…no, it was just a coincidence. There were plenty of colonels at northern command she probably hadn't heard of, Riza was sure.

Nevertheless, she motioned to a passing waiter. "Excuse me, but who are those two men? Could you tell them to please quiet down?"

He gave them a wry glance. "Oh, them. I'm not quite sure what their names are, but you wouldn't be the first to complain about them. You'd think for such loud characters the whole train would know where they were headed and what they hoped to accomplish…suspicious, if you ask me…"

"Thank you." Al said politely, seeing that Riza was apparently deep in thought. The waiter shrugged and moved off, and Al turned to Riza.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure…" She replied, casting another glance at them. "I think we should meet up with Hughes sooner then planned…I've got a strange feeling about this, and I'm sure he'd likely like to hear about this. LeMat…I'm sure I've heard that name before…"

---

The elven-year-old boy peeked into the tent cautiously, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. Quietly, he moved forward, trying to keep the tent flap from rustling as he entered.

"_Jin, come back here!"_ Hissed a voice behind him in Xingese. Jin turned and smiled at the older boy behind him.

"_No, I won't."_ Jin responded cheerfully. _"You heard grandmother, she said the two visitors were in this tent! Don't be such a stick in the mud, Shui."_

The older boy, Shui, frowned. _"Fine, don't come crying to me when it turns out they eat little boys like you for breakfast!"_

Jin rolled his eyes. _"Even you know that's-"_

A sudden groan from a nearby bed interrupted him, and both boys froze. More hesitant this time, Jin's curiosity quickly forced him to break the silence.

"Hello?" He called softly, switching abruptly to Amestrian.

"Uh…my head…hurts…" There was a pained gasp, and Jin saw the rumpled covers on the bed shift, revealing messy black hair.

Jin blinked, turning to Shui almost apologetically. _"What did he say?"_

"_Something about his head hurting, I think."_ Shui replied dismissively. _"Next time, try paying attention to grandmother's lessons!"_

Roy listened to all this distantly, sitting up and feeling like his head was stuffed with cotton. Willing his vision to focus, he winced as the bright light made his headache even worse. "Who's there? Tao Yin?"

"_Now look at what you've gotten us into!"_ Shui snapped. Jin didn't pay him any attention, squinting into the shadows and trying to make out the man on the other side of the room. After a moment or two, he cautiously spoke up again.

"I am Jin. What is your name?" The words came out sounding stiff, but Jin couldn't help but feel satisfied with himself nonetheless. At least he'd gotten the pronunciation right, as far as he could tell.

The colonel sighed in relief as Shui closed the tent flap and the room was restored to its normal darkened state. "My name is Roy Mustang. Nice to meet you, Jin."

Roy Mustang…what a strange name. Jin didn't quite understand the last part, though he assumed it was probably some sort of greeting from the tone.

"Do you know where Tao Yin is?" Roy asked, trying to sound casual despite the pounding in his ears.

Jin blinked again. "Oh, our grandmother? She is…out…" He trailed off, the language barrier making it difficult to say much more.

"She's talking to our father, Xuizhen," Shui interjected smoothly. "The leader of the Wu Xing Ma Xi Tuan. She won't be very long…do you mind if I turn on a light?"

Roy smiled wryly. It figured she'd be out just as he woke up; he could never win, could he? "Sure, go right ahead."

Shui immediately did so, turning on a nearby gas lamp that had obviously seen better days. Wincing at the light, Roy's eyes took a minute or so to adapt, finally revealing two bewildered Xingian boys next to his bed.

"You are…Xingian, like us?" The smaller one said, a curious smile slowly dawning on his face.

Roy raised an eyebrow, recognizing the smaller boy's voice instantly as being Jin's. "I…suppose you could say that."

"Wow! That is amazing!" Jin babbled, grinning widely. "That must mean you were raised in Amestris? You must have Amestrian relatives as well, judging by your name!"

"Yes to both questions." Roy said, the boy's grin becoming infectious

The older boy, Shui, looked mystified however…and slightly relieved? Roy didn't have a chance to dwell on this curious reaction, however, when a voice rudely yanked him from his musings.

"Ah, Colonel Mustang, I see you have met my grandsons."

Roy looked up to see Tao Yin enter the large tent, carrying a basin, a washcloth and a bottle of something he assumed was medication.

But Roy wasn't keen on small talk at the moment. "Where is Fullmetal?"

She gave him a knowing smile. "I am certain whether or not I told you, someone as resolute as you are would not stay in that bed and get the rest you need in any case…Dao is exactly where he has been all this time, in the next room."

Tao Yin gestured towards something Roy hadn't really noticed before, another ten flap across from him. There was no light coming from behind it, and he realized at once the tent must be split up into separate rooms. It wasn't the only one, either; there was another only a few metres away from his bed.

Roy managed a grim smile. Finally, he knew where Ed was, and he could see for himself that the teenager was still alive, still breathing…the thought was, strangely, the most comforting one he'd had since getting stuck on this detour into hell. Grimacing, he sat up, gasping softly as his head pounded insistently and his vision momentarily blurred.

_Got to get up…Need to see Ed…_He thought firmly, his stubborn nature forcing him to put one foot down on the cold floor and shift his weight onto it. The process was painfully slow, but as he was reminded by the loud throbbing in his ears, necessarily so. He was half-surprised that his shoulder wasn't screaming in pain by now; he couldn't even feel a twinge

The two boys quickly moved out of his way, allowing him to take a few unsteady steps forward, grasping onto a nearby dresser. The boys started forward to help him, but Tao Yin held up an arm to block them, giving them a look that unmistakably meant they were to do no such thing. Confused, they watched as the colonel tried his best to appear completely healthy and make it across the room…and managing to fall miserably at both.

"Your courage is to be admired, colonel." Tao Yin said after a pause, an amused smile threatening to wipe away the serious expression she'd so carefully cultivated.

"I'm fine." He hissed, showing more irritation then he normally would have cared to. Tao Yin just laughed, though she tried her best to suppress it.

"Go ahead, laugh!" He snapped in reply, about to continue further when he lost his balance. Before he could fall to the ground, however, Tao Yin darted forward and grabbed him just in time.

"You should accept help more often, colonel." She replied, obviously entertained by his pigheadedness. "That medicine I gave you earlier is still in effect, numbing your pain and making it difficult for you to stay awake…among other unpleasant side affects…"

That explained why his shoulder wasn't paining him, now that he thought about it. Roy chose not to dwell on what the other 'unpleasant side affects' might be, allowing her to help him across the room. It was humiliating, but it was obvious by now he wouldn't make it on his own. Jin wordlessly pulled the tent flap aside, following the two adults quietly with his older brother close behind him.

Roy squinted into the darkness, unable to make out any distinct shapes in the shadows. After a moment, however, Tao Yin fiddled with another gas lamp Roy hadn't noticed she'd taken from the other room. There was a spark, and then a small flame flickered briefly before strengthening.

Ed looked like death warmed over. His hair glowed dully in the dim light, as his heavy breathing and dirty, sweat-soaked face became apparent to Roy. He was holding the blankets tightly, as if letting go for even one second could be a matter of life and death.

"Dao has a long road ahead to recovery." Tao Yin said softly, sensing Roy's shock. "And so do you. You can stay for a moment longer, just long enough to have breakfast, and then you must go back to bed."

Roy was so tired, and he could barely think coherently. All he wanted to was sleep, though he knew that need was unlikely to be fulfilled any time soon. Blinking, he tried his best to focus on her. "Why do you keep calling him 'Dao'?"

She looked mildly surprised, before the older woman seemed to realize Roy was serious. "A 'Dao' is a Xingian…how do you say it? Sword?"

Pulling aside a blanket, she revealed his transmuted automail blade. Shui and Jin gasped softly.

"The men who found him had never seen something like this…and I suppose you could say, since we did not know his real name, it was only natural we found a placeholder."

"A sword?" He mumbled, as she put the blankets back down. There was something poetic about that…something ironic. These people hadn't even known Ed was part of the military, and yet they still associated him with a weapon.

Roy reached out, lightly touching Ed's forehead. He was forced to yank it away almost immediately; he was blazing hot. The colonel narrowed his eyes.

"Tao Yin, do you believe he can survive the night?"

The older women gave him a curious look. "Yes, provided he is as mulish as you are…"

"Have you ever lost anyone to a fever?" Roy asked impatiently, as if the answer would be condemning. Which, in a way, was the truth.

She smiled sadly. "Yes, my son…He died because of a fever like this. But that was a very long time ago, when I was inexperienced and foolish." She looked up, unmistakably set determination plain on her face.

"I will not make that mistake again, I can assure you. Recovery depends on your friend alone, and whether or not I was able to give him the medicine in time." Her message was clear; she would help as much as she could. Roy couldn't ask for anything more.

He nodded, satisfied, and then turned to look down on Ed. "He's been through worse. If anyone could pull through, it would be him. I won't leave him until he does."

She couldn't hide a soft smile. "I have no doubt of that."

---

And so, another chapter comes to a close! Sorry it's not more exciting, I'm going through writer's block.

Okay, name infodump time. As you may recall, 'Wu Xing Ma Xi Tuan' is rather badly-rendered Chinese for 'Circus of the Five Elements'. The 'Five Elements' of the chapter title are based on a Chinese philosophy, which leads us back to alchemy and (you guessed it) the philosopher's stone. According to legend, natural phenomena can be classified as metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and are considered the elemental building blocks of life. And I'm explaining this rather badly. Anyways, more on that later, because to say much more would be a spoiler…:)

To continue, however, Tao Yin is another Chinese concept which is sort of a combination of philosophy, martial arts, and medicine. Tao means 'long life', Yin means 'shady' and 'Yin' is generally considered to be feminine for some reason. Huo means 'fire', Shui means 'water', Jin means 'metal' (you'll find out why for both of them soon). Dao was already explained, and Xuizhen is a concept based on 'practicing/learning the way of truth'. I can't go into Roy's parent's names, because that's another spoiler.


	9. The Slow Road

About Me

**Author's Note:** I'm so amazed I've got over 200 reviews already…that's just…I'm speechless! Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions, they keep me motivated! :D Sorry for the long gap in between chapters, by the way…a better explanation is below, though.

It will surprise you all to find out that though the last update WAS a joke, most of the chapter what was I'd had written beforehand anyway :3 I wasn't trying to bash anyone for liking/not liking yaoi/shonen ai/etc., it was just an April Fools' joke begging to be done. The gag chapter might pop up on my Livejournal in the near future, so here's the real chapter to tide you over in the meantime.

_**By Chance Or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Nine: The Slow Road**

"Mr. Mustang, you should rest."

Roy rubbed his eyes wearily, turning to see Shui regarding him with pitying eyes. Ever since Tao Yin had showed him where Ed was earlier (well, technically yesterday by now…) he hadn't left his side. How could he, when Ed could wake up at any moment?

The colonel sighed tiredly, forcing his parched throat to allow him to speak. "I can't. It's my fault he's this sick as it is…the least I can do is stay by him. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I can't sleep." Shui replied simply, moving to sit down next to him.

"So you've come to bother me?" Roy said dryly, shifting uncomfortably at the invasion into his personal space. The subsequent protesting twinge in his shoulder reminded him that moving was out of the question.

Shui blinked, looking completely serious. "I think you're interesting."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "I'm 'interesting'?"

Shui looked up at the ceiling, leaning back onto Roy's recently moved bed and pillowing his arms behind his head nonchalantly. "Yeah. You don't speak our language, but you look Xingian."

Roy wasn't sure how to answer that. Thankfully, Shui didn't seem to expect him too, and continued on.

"Grandmother says you're from the military…and that she used to know your parents. How is that possible? And how come you don't seem to know much about us?"

Roy looked down at his outstretched right hand, which were scratched in places where the wolves' claws had raked across. "I guess you could say I never had the time…or a reason…to ask."

"Why?" Shui asked, persistent. It seemed like he was generally interested in what Roy had to say.

Roy gave him a wry, slightly bitter smile. "It might seem strange to you, considering you grew up knowing about your family history and culture, but it isn't the same where I come from. My mother didn't want me to stick out…or so she always told me. Besides, Amestris is my country of origin…not Xing."

Shui frowned. "How much do you know about it? Doesn't it bother you not to know more?"

"Sometimes." Roy replied distractedly. "Not that often, and usually not that much. What day is it anyways?"

"Thursday," Shui paused for a moment, glancing at the soft, blue light creeping out from underneath the bottom of the tent wall. "Well, Friday by this point…"

Roy closed his eyes tiredly. Friday…that meant three days had passed since the train accident. Somehow, it seemed more like four years had passed then merely half a week. Ed probably wouldn't have regained his sight by now…and Roy's crew most likely knew about the train accident by now.

"I can't believe it's only been that long…"

There a short pause as Shui mulled over this. A strangely solemn expression on his face, he wordlessly looked over at Ed,. Shadows danced across the young state alchemist's face, the dim candlelight illuminating his features in an almost ethereal-like glow. They'd had to tie him down to the bed earlier, when a particularly bad nightmare had nearly made him skewer himself with his automail blade.

"I hate him."

"…What?"

"I hate him." Shui said again with more conviction, his eyes narrowing slightly. "He's lying here sleeping, without a care in the world, while you suffer."

Roy wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. "That's not a very good reason to hate someone."

"That's not the only reason."

Roy looked over at Shui with a mildly bemused expression. "Oh really?"

"He's…different. Not like us. I just don't like it." Shui answered tersely, the firelight flickering across his eyes in an eerie manner.

Roy looked away, his even tone hiding his increasing uneasiness. "That's an even worse reason."

"Why?" Shui questioned, sounding genuinely curious. "I'm not like him, and he's not like me. We're already on separate sides."

"There are no 'sides'. This isn't a war we have to fight against each other." Roy replied, gazing at the small flame in the lamp. "You live in Amestris, don't you? Then we're all alike. We all have the same problems, the same wants and needs…we're all human."

A moan immediately caught his attention, and Roy looked back at Ed quickly. The teenager shifted, slowly opening his clouded eyes.

"What…what am I doing in a bed?"

Roy relaxed, a relieved smile tugging at his lips. "Welcome to the land of the living, kid."

Ed jerked at the sound of Roy's voice, then seemed to relax. He blinked hazily, trying to sit up. There was a short, exasperated pause. "…Why am I tied down?"

"Next time, try unalchemizing your automail blade before passing out." Roy said amusedly, taping said blade to make his point, unbuckling the leather straps and helping his subordinate up.

Surprisingly, Ed grinned, immediately clapping his hands together and returning his automail to normal with a flash of blue light. "Hey, I'd just had a near death experience and I was sick as a dog. Cut me some slack."

"I'm starting to wonder if anything can kill you." Roy replied, laughing slightly.

"Yeah…I guess I'm just lucky." Ed said ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck. "So where the heck are we anyways?"

Roy sighed, suddenly appearing much more tired and troubled than he had a minute ago. "We were lucky. A traveling carnival by the name of the 'Circus of the Five Elements' rescued us just in the nick of time. How are your wounds?"

Ed glanced at his side briefly, before shrugging. "Okay, I guess. They don't hurt as much…matter of fact, I can't really feel them."

"Grandmother put a healing salve on them." Shui commented. Ed jumped at the sudden voice, but after a moment curiosity got the better of him. Pulling up his shirt, he felt rather than saw the substance spread liberally across the wound.

"Just how long was I out?" He said, a nervous edge entering his tone. The wound had healed quite a bit; enough that Ed realized he must have been out for longer than a few hours, however good the salve might be.

Mustang pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Why did he have to be the one to explain things all the time? "Two days, give or take a few hours."

"**Two days?!**" Ed said, his blind eyes wide and his voice rising to a ridiculously high level. Roy almost laughed at his expression.

"Two days." He confirmed. "And we still have a long way to go until we reach North City. Which reminds me, you wouldn't happen to have a telegraph or something similar here, would you Shui?"

Shui blinked, then looked thoughtful. "No, I don't think so. I didn't know you were going to North City; we were heading in the opposite direction."

Roy grimaced at this new information. "Would you happen to be going by Central or any towns the railway passes through?"

Shui shook his head, looking genuinely apologetic. "We were going to follow some of the more traversed trails into the western region of Amestris, towards the city of Selah. The only reason we found you was because the snowstorms blocked our normal routes."

Roy mulled this over carefully, considering their options. From what little he knew of Selah, it was a large metropolitan city away from the normal railway routes and far from Central. They'd have to change over at least every two stops if he wasn't mistaken, and tour half of Amestris in the process. Roy had often heard complaints from the high-ups about the baffling nature of the western sector, which observed a local understanding of 'fastest shot lives longest'. It wasn't as isolated as the northern region, but in many ways far more dangerous. He'd actively avoided sending Ed on missions in that area for a reason, after all.

"So what do we do?" Ed asked quietly, interrupting his internal monologue. Roy sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"We're in no condition to start off towards North City right away, so we'll stay for a day or two more. After that, we'll try following the way they came back. As soon as we reach North City, I'll contact my aunt and from there get in touch with Central."

Ed hesitated, looking conflicted. "That sounds dangerous."

Roy sighed. "I never said it would be. But both of us need to fulfill our duties to the military, and Selah is so remote I doubt they'd even know a phone if they saw one, which means we'd be stuck there for quite a while until the next train came through...**if** it managed to come through, in a week."

Ed grit his teeth, his unfocused eyes flickering with defiance. "Mustang, this is hardly the time to be worried about the milita-"

"We need protection, Edward." Roy interrupted frostily. "You may have noticed we're being followed."

"Dammit…" Ed scowled in frustration. Mustang was, of course, correct; endangering the circus performers that had saved their lives was obviously not an option. As long as they stayed with them, however, Roy and Ed posed a threat to the circus's wellbeing.

Ed would be dammed if he'd admit it, though. "So you propose we travel for miles on end, while sick and injured, despite the bad weather, to see some obscure aunt of yours that you haven't contacted in years and might very well be dead."

Roy smiled. "The day my health-obsessed aunt Cecilia Norris up and dies at the age of forty-four is the day the apocalypse will come. You'll see what I mean when you meet her."

Ed crossed his arms defiantly. "Alright, fine. You're the famous Ishbal war hero, so **obviously** everything you say on the matter should be considered the word of God."

The Colonel wasn't impressed with Ed's sarcasm. "Fullmetal, act your age for once."

"Not until you start acting more like a human being and less like an insult-hurling, heartless machine." Ed countered.

"How far is it to North City?" Roy asked, ignoring Ed's comment.

Shui looked uncertain; feeling uncomfortable as he suddenly became the center of attention. The tension wasn't just tangible, it was suffocating. "…Eight miles. Five, if the Blackwater river is still frozen over."

"Could you describe to us in detail the trail you took to get here?" Roy asked, watching for Ed's reaction out of the corner of his eye. The younger alchemist shrugged, leaning back and appearing completely carefree…to any casual observer that was.

Shui blinked, thinking for a moment. "Yes, I think my father keeps a map in his tent. He's marked down our course so far in red ink, so it shouldn't be difficult to follow."

That was a relief. "Shui, do you know where your grandmother is? I'd like to know if Ed will be able to leave with me soon."

Ed looked indignant. "Oh, so I'm a burden now? It's not like I asked to come along on this wild goose chase!"

Roy sighed. Why did Ed always have to read into things too much? "Fullmetal-"

"Do you have to leave?" Shui interrupted, realizing his presumptuousness and lowering his eyes. "I mean…whatever you have to do…whatever you have to run away from…the circus could take you in."

Before Ed could add in his two cents, Roy spoke up, giving his subordinate a pointed look. An utterly pointless gesture, considering his blindness, but Roy was certain Ed knew what he was thinking anyways. "Thank you, Shui, but I have to get Ed to North City. I'll come back and visit you sometime, okay?"

Ed didn't know what startled him more; the genuinely sincere tone of voice Roy had, or his casual declaration to help Ed. A loud 'Oof!' interrupted his thoughts, and Ed didn't need to see to realize that Shui had hugged Roy.

"…You promise, right?" The boy said, his voice coming out slightly muffled. Roy smiled.

"I promise. Now, I'd go get your grandmother for myself, but my mobility seems rather limited at the moment…would you mind-"

"Of course!" Shui said, sounding cheerful. Ed heard the sound of running feet against the dirt ground, and felt a slight breeze of cool air as the tent flap opened and then closed…leaving him alone in the dark with the colonel.

"Why did you act so nice to him?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, turning his attention to Ed. The teenager looked bizarrely serious. "Hmm?"

"I mean…" Ed shook his head. "It's nothing. You just seemed…nice. It's weird."

Roy smiled, allowing a rare contemplative look to cross his face. Ed couldn't see, so what did it matter? "He's a good kid…just a bit lost and confused. But then, I guess we all are."

"…Yeah."

For a moment, Ed was silent, and Roy wondered if he should have allowed that much emotion in his tone. Ed's bangs obscured his face, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. But was a short, comfortable silence, and Roy was content to let it go.

"I used to admire you."

It seemed as though the world stopped, if only for a second. Roy raised an eyebrow at the sudden, unexpected admission, a practiced deadpanned expression on his face. Old habits died hard. "…Pardon?"

Ed tensed, looking up into Mustang's eyes with a strange, angry look. "I **said** I used to admire you. Before I met you, and found out you were a bastard."

Roy smirked, not letting the small tinge of relief that he felt show. Familiar territory was good; he could deal with insults and accusations. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Stop hiding behind that crap!" Ed snapped, startling Roy slightly. "You always brush me off! I'm not a kid any more!"

Silence. Ed inhaled shakily, moving to get up and wincing as his side protested at the movement. Roy watched him uncertainly, debating whether the consequences for helping him would be worth saving Ed the pain.

His conscience eventually got the better of his common sense, and Roy gently placed a hand on Ed's back, pushing him up. The teenager made a noise that sounded halfway between an apologetic acknowledgement and a thank you, and swung his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up.

Rotating his flesh arm, Ed seemed satisfied with the state of it, and slowly shifted his weight to his legs. As he stumbled and nearly fell over with a distressed yelp, Roy darted forward just in time to catch him, grasping the teenager awkwardly against his chest.

Roy managed a strangled laugh, trying to get a better grip and avoid dropping him at the same time. "Well, that was a valuable learning experience."

"Shut up." Ed murmured, fighting him every inch of the way and trying his best to stand up and regain his dignity. He had barely managed to force his legs into the proper position when they gave out underneath him, and both of the state alchemists immediately toppled to the floor.

"Dammit!" Ed hissed balefully, feeling unwanted tears gather in his eyes. He heard a familiar pained moan, followed by an equally familiar choked voice.

"Fullmetal…could you…get off? Your automail is…digging right into my side…"

"Fine," Ed replied irritably, kicking himself inwardly for not getting up to begin with. As soon as he was off, he heard the sound of rustling fabric and felt himself being lifted back onto the bed.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Ed snarled, flailing in an effort to get away. His efforts were wasted, as moments later he felt himself being set back on the bed. He was about to voice his protest, when a hand covered his mouth.

"Have some patience, kid. You'll heal faster if you don't push yourself too far too soon."

Ed gave Roy (or at least, the place he assumed Roy was standing) a long, hard look. "…What do you care?"

"Believe it or not, I care a great deal." Roy replied seriously, despite Ed's sardonically skeptical expression. "Now, get some rest…you'll need to be alert and ready when we leave."

After a long stretch of silence Roy took to mean the teenager was in agreement with him, the Colonel wearily stood up and started to make his way back to his bed.

"…'M still not a kid, y'know..."

Roy stopped, glancing back to see that Ed's eyes were half-lidded with exhaustion. Apparently, the younger alchemist had been more tired than he'd cared to admit.

And very softly, so no one else would hear, Roy said two words that Ed barely understood through his fatigue.

"I know."

--

So, another chapter has been finished. Seems like as soon as Ed and Roy make some progress towards liking each other, they end up worse off then they'd started. Don't worry, though; friendships do take time to develop, and they just have a lot of bad blood between them holding it up for now ;)

**IMPORTANT NOTE:**

I'm really sorry this took so long. With school, and other junk, it just became impossible to write…and since I now apparently suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, chapters will not only be shorter but less frequent. For those who don't know, carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that you get from performing repetitive motions, in my case typing, which makes it difficult to type long chapters or anything like that. Look it up on Wikipedia if you want to know more. Needless to say, I could risk permanent nerve damage if I push it too much. Sorry, folks.


	10. A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

**Author's Note:** Another long gap between updates! Sorry, I really can't help it, that carpal tunnel was being a major killjoy when it came to writing, and then school hit. :( The former is mostly gone now, but:

**This story has undergone revisions as of this chapter being posted. Nothing major, probably nothing you'd notice, but important enough that they needed to be done.**

In any case, I'm sorry nothing much of relevance happened last chapter. This one should be an improvement, hopefully! I forgot to mention, I have a picture of teenaged!Roy up at my deviantArt account (linked through my profile). I also have my _**first fanart ever**_ linked there as well! Thanks, Obi-quiet! :)

_**By Chance or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Ten: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words**

"…_Mustang?_

"_I apologize for my tardiness, sir."_

_When Sergeant Ludwig Eberhart glanced up from his clipboard, I knew I was in over my head. And for some reason I glared right back, out of breath from running the whole way but not willing to give any more ground than I had to. He knew why I was late; everyone in the academy did. I'd be surprised if the entire state hadn't heard what had happened._

"_So you're _that_ Roy Mustang." He said, phrasing it more as a statement than a question._

_I looked down, refusing to let him see my expression. "Yes."_

"_I suppose you think that makes you some sort of a hero, doesn't it? Someone who deserves special treatment?"_

"_No, sir." I said quietly. "I was detained by Doctor Brevet."_

"_Let me tell you something, cadet." I quickly looked up, bitterly annoyed. Not another lecture._

"…_About the difference between a man and a boy." He continued, his tone and expression unreadable. "A boy can hide behind his mother. A man, however, has to protect her. He must take responsibility for himself, and for all those around him."_

_**That's fine for him to say.**__ I thought, my irritation and resentment simmering away beneath the composed expression I somehow managed to wear. __**He wasn't there. He didn't have to watch people die, to watch them-**_

"…_Which is why I'm going to request a transfer for you."_

_I tensed, my eyes widening as his words sunk in. I could feel the others down the line staring at me, their faces probably shining with pity or dark with contempt. "Y-You…you can't-"_

"_I can, and I will." The drill sergeant said firmly. "You'll be transferred under Major Adolf Warren, effective as soon as I can get the necessary papers filled out. This arrangement will be temporary, but I expect you to follow orders and remain there for the rest of basic training until Mr. Warren believes you are ready to move on. Have I made myself clear, cadet Mustang?"_

_There were a few snickers, and I felt my face heat up with embarrassment. "Yes, sir."_

"_Good." Eberhart nodded, sounding truly satisfied._

_**That bastard!**__ I had opened my mouth to tell him exactly what he could do with those 'necessary papers' of his, when he was interrupted by a familiar bugle call._

"…_Well, since it seems like lunch is being served early…" Eberhart raised an eyebrow. "I'll meet you all back here in an hour, on the dot. Except you, Mustang. I want to speak to you alone."_

_Feeling suddenly nervous as my fellow army recruits dispersed and headed towards the mess hall, I nevertheless tried to keep up a brave front. I'd be damned before I'd waste away under some crackpot alchemist, after all those weeks of tough physical training. There was no way I'd let this reassignment go unchallenged._

_Absent-mindedly, I fiddled with the neckline of my uniform. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been when I'd first put it on, but I didn't like the sensation of something tight around my neck. It made me feel like I was wearing a dog collar…or a hangman's noose. _

_He sighed, looking suddenly weary. "Mustang, I'll be frank. I knew your father back when we were a couple of army brats trying to sneak into the mess kitchen. He's done…did me quite a few good turns over the last few years, so I figure it's time I paid my due to his son."_

_Some of my confusion slipped past that mask I'd become so good at wearing the past months, before I hardened my resolve once again. "What happened to giving 'no special treatment'?"_

_To my surprise, he laughed. "This isn't special treatment, kid. It's the chance of a lifetime, provided you're willing to put the work into it. And I can't see your old man raising a slacker, can you?"_

_I lowered my eyes again. Looks like irony had once again come back to bite me in the ass. "Yeah…I'd put the work in. But I don't see what Major Warren has to do with all this."_

_He gave me a pointed look, and I knew immediately he was going to say something important. "Listen up, the military is thinking of employing so-called 'state alchemists' in the future. I've seen your marks in maths and sciences, you could learn alchemy and learn it well if you applied yourself. That would make you a hot commodity around here, and set you up for a good career. Even the most basic knowledge on the subject would help you rise up in the ranks."_

_But I still didn't understand._

"_Why should you care? I'm just another recruit. How I become a soldier isn't important, it's what I do afterwards that counts."_

_He gave me that same look, the one I couldn't figure out._

"_Because being in the military…you make a lot of enemies. Whether you want to or not. The key is to keep a good poker face, and make sure you have a good hand of cards. If you're anything like your father, you'll be sure to take that to heart."_

---

Roy found himself staring blankly at the ceiling, listening to the soft sound of the wind blowing. He couldn't remember waking up, but he knew he must have only a short while ago. That dream…no, it hadn't been a dream. A memory? But he'd thought had nearly forgotten his days at the academy…something he'd always considered a blessing. Until now, when he found himself wondering if he'd forgotten something important.

"Hey, Mustang? Are you awake?"

Roy turned his head, realizing belatedly that the effort was wasted. Thanks to the pitch-black darkness of the room, he suspected he could barely see his hand in front of his face, let alone something across from him. The voice sounded clearer, louder than it should have, and after a moment Roy realized the blizzard must have died down.

Groggy but all the same recognizing the voice as Edward's, he sighed. "Yes."

"Great, could you do me a favour?" Roy raised an eyebrow at the eager tone of the teenager's voice, for once without any trace of sarcasm or any similar emotion. It seemed suspicious…

Wary, Roy decided he had nothing to lose by humoring him. "Depends on what it is."

"Could you go ask Tao Yin for breakfast?" There was an undercurrent of pleading in his voice. "I'm starving."

For a moment, Roy didn't say a word. The silence was torture.

"No."

"What did I ever do to you?" Ed snapped, losing his temper. "Couldn't you just-"

"You should not be so impatient, Mr. Elric." Tao Yin interrupted smoothly, having watched the series of events unfold with amusement. She had never considered herself a terribly noisy person, but it was obviously Mustang's young charge hadn't quite adapted to his situation yet. She'd been standing there for quite some time, after all, fiddling with things and not entirely trying to be quiet.

She shook her head amusedly. "You will get your breakfast soon enough. Before then, however, I would like to borrow your superior?"

"…Whatever." Ed replied crossly, ducking his head to hide his blush. Dammit, Mustang could have at least helped him to avoid this embarrassment…

Meanwhile, Roy watched the older Xingese woman with some trepidation. Something wasn't quite clear about all this…why did she want to see him in particular? What was she planning?

She caught his gaze and smiled. "Come with me, colonel."

Ed heard the sound of creaking bedsprings, and the rustle of the tent flap being opened and closed. Quickly putting on his leather jacket, boots and coat. Wincing at his aching side (which surprising felt much better) as he did so, Ed sat there and waited for a few moments, trying his best to ignore his complaining stomach. His patience was soon rewarded, as soft footsteps came closer and he once again heard the familiar tent flap being pushed aside.

"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about, or leave me in the dark?" He asked, mustering plenty of his old bravado. Ed felt a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly felt less confident.

"Do you want to see?"

Of all the things the teenager had expected to hear, that wasn't one of them. Why was Tao Yin here and what was she getting at? Where was Mustang? Further more, her question was bizarre…of course he wanted to see again, who wouldn't? Without his sight, how would he ever restore Al's body and find the philosopher's stone? This was some sort of test, he could tell that instantly. Some gut feeling deep down told him she knew more than she let on. There was something important she'd told Roy, he just knew it. But there was a marked difference in her attitude towards him now than she had with Mustang before.

Ed looked guarded. "What do you mean? Where's Mustang?"

"I do not pretend to be anything other than what I am, an observer, so what I can tell you is limited. I would prefer Roy would tell you this himself, but he seems to have misplaced his manners since I last saw him. I suppose the Ishbal rebellion has that effect on people…war hardens even the gentlest of hearts."

Ed frowned at the implication of her last words, noticing how she didn't answer his second question. He let it go for now. "You know him well?"

"I did. Now, if you have any further questions, please ask them now and try not to interrupt me in the future. I want to tell this story from beginning to end, and in order to do that I cannot afford to be distracted."

Ed crossed his arms, giving her an irritated look. Unknown to him, Tao Yin smiled, pleased despite herself that she'd managed to capture his attention. He didn't seem to respect authority very much, although…in one sense, she couldn't help but suppose that might aid the colonel later on.

"Since this situation seems very…unbalanced, I would like to level the playing field, so to speak. Roy mentioned you were curious to know the details of what happened during the winter of 1903?"

The teenager leaned forward eagerly. "You'll tell me?"

"Of course not. However, I will tell you how to find out." She replied primly. It was obvious she enjoyed stringing him along, and Ed was quickly tiring of her games. For someone he suspected was a respected elder, she sure did have a sadistic streak.

He clenched the bedcovers, trying to keep his control. His voice, however, was astonishingly level. "Stop jerking me around. Are you going to tell me something, or aren't you?"

"They were cut off."

Ed's eyes widened. "…What? Wait, you mean his hometown?"

"New Red Point, yes. By order of the government, under Fuhrer Joseph Firebrand. They were left without proper food supplies, and prevented from contacting the outside world. Many starved to death, while others…suffered a worse fate. That tyrant undid what little good work his predecessor, Rex Bradley, had done. I take it you never studied history in great detail?"

Ed was silent, and for once attentive. Tao Yin sighed and resumed her explanation, although this time in much more hushed tones. He was startled when she leaned closer, whispering in his ear.

"They were desperate. He barely escaped in time."

Ed looked taken aback. "That's a bit…extreme. Why would they cut off an entire town? Weren't there families living in that place, like Mustang's? People who didn't have anything to do with the criminals?"

"That's a question no one ever asks." Tao Yin replied simply. "Because most them were made up of military personnel, or related to military personnel."

His eyes widened. "You mean-"

"Yes. They moved to that godforsaken town out of their own free will, with the intention of restoring and then maintaining order. As you can guess, that move was a costly one for the military."

"Why didn't-" Ed's voice hitched slightly, as he struggled to comprehend this information. "Someone must have known something! Tried to save them before it was too late!"

The next few minutes seemed to drag on for a year. Nervously, he waited for her answer.

"No, Edward. You are familiar with the reputation the military has. Not many look kindly upon those who they see as giving themselves up body and soul to the state. I would not be surprised if there were many who rejoiced upon hearing the news."

Ed recoiled, horrified despite himself. "But those people…the ones you say suffered a worse fate. What happened to them?"

As soon as he asked, he knew he wouldn't receive a straight answer. It was too direct a question. As he'd suspected, she hesitated for a few moments more. Ed had nearly reached the end of his rope when she finally responded.

"It is not my place. Nor are you ready for the knowledge, if Roy has not told you yet. Until both of you admit to your blindness, neither of you will be able to see."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ed demanded angrily. "Mustang's not blind!"

There was a sigh. "He will not allow himself to see the truth. Roy is blinder than you by far, and yet more open to the truth. It is a very curious state of affairs…but I digress. If I am not mistaken, North City still has the records of the incident under lock and key in the library. Perhaps your pocket watch could help you gain access to them, but I would not know."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ed finally asked, in a less irritable tone. He felt the bed shift, and realized she must have stood up.

She smiled, the useless reassurance that it was. "Do I need a reason? Just because my nephew never tells his secrets doesn't mean that I won't."

He jolted, nearly falling out of the bed. "Mustang is your **nephew**?"

"Yes, he is. Although I would be very surprised if he knew, considering how his mother was about family relations." Tao Yin sounded amused.

His shock at the news temporarily put aside, Ed smirked, recognizing the irony of the situation immediately. "That figures. Bastard always thinks he knows everything…but I bet this would give him a nasty shock."

"I would rather you did not tell him." She was surprisingly solemn, and the smirk faded off Ed's face quickly. "Both of you may live to regret it, should he decide to pursue his family history."

"…Fine." Ed said grudgingly. "We'll consider it an equivalent exchange. You gave me information, I won't tell Mustang."

She laughed, making the teenager feel distinctly annoyed. And here he'd offered to do her a favour?

"I a-apologize, but…I am no alchemist. You are not obligated to hide this information from him if you want to tell him, and you do not need to repay me for telling you the truth. You are a rather straightforward person, Edward Elric. I can see why Roy respects you so much, as badly as he shows it. A kindred spirit to him, perhaps?"

"I'm nothing like Mustang." Ed replied grumpily, his pride wounded. He felt a hand on his shoulder again, and looked up, for all the good it would do him.

"When you regain your eyesight, I would like you to see this." He felt something (a piece of paper? No, it felt stiffer than that…) being pressed into his flesh hand.

Seeing his questioning look, Tao Yin elaborated. "This is a picture of Roy and his family months before…it happened. He was very different then from what he is now, although in many ways not as much as he likes to think."

_A blue long-sleeved shirt made out of a stiff material and pinned in a manner similar to the military uniforms…a pair of matching dress pants tucked neatly into smart black boots…and long black hair tied back into a ponytail…_

Wary of the answer he would receive, Ed decided to take a chance. "Did he have long hair?"

There was a short, incredulous pause.

"Yes…how did you know?" She sounded surprised. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, as the alchemist tried to think of some logical explanation to cover his tracks. Ed couldn't think of anything good enough to sound convincing.

"Just…a good guess." He felt slightly guilty about lying, but telling the truth would just make him sound crazy.

"Well, well. Talking about me behind my back again, Fullmetal?"

Ed felt like banging his head against something very hard. How long had Mustang been standing there anyways? "Yeah, sure, like I'd want to talk about you when I don't need to. Where the hell were you anyways? Come to mix with the commoners?"

"Mature as ever, I see." Roy remarked, a hint of superiority in his tone. "It might interest you to know that while you were lying here in bed gossiping, I was looking for the best route to North City and begging the leader of this circus for provisions."

"It is ironic that you should say that, Edward." Tao Yin laughed slightly, and Ed raised an eyebrow. After a few moments the old woman elaborated. "It seems like Colonel Mustang has become quite popular here. I've lost count of how many women have asked me about him since you two first arrived."

"Doesn't surprise me." Ed snorted, although his thoughts were still preoccupied with the strange dream.

But all too soon the teasing and witty camadarie gave way to more important things. Supplies needed to be gathered and organized, and goodbyes needed to be said. For Ed, who had spent the majority of his time away from the rest of the caravan, being dragged out into the warm sunlight was a strange experience. The sound of whispers and quiet voices made him tense. The teenager felt oddly trapped, surrounded by people he couldn't see but who could see him.

_Since when did I become so paranoid?_ He wondered dimly, feeling a comforting hand on his shoulder. Someone (Mustang?) leaned closer to him.

"Don't look so scared. If they had wanted to hurt us, they would have already."

"Like I don't know that." Ed replied sullenly, irritated that Mustang could see through him that easily. Why did people keep touching him, anyways?

He suddenly remembered the picture, and casually put a hand in his pocket to check if it was there. Ed's fingers touched the glossy surface of the photograph. Good, so he hadn't lost it. He felt the hand leave his shoulder, and heard distinct footsteps. It was easy to tell they were Mustang's, no one else wore such heavy boots. Wary, Ed listened for the slightest sound that would alert him to trouble, cursing his blindness but at the same time impressed despite himself at how good his hearing had become in such a short time.

"…Thank you for all you've done, if I can ever-"

"Are we going to go, or just stand around here all day?" Ed asked impatiently. The murmured conversations stopped immediately, and Ed became nervously aware of the eerie silence that had descended on the caravan. One voice broke the silence, shattering the tranquility that had been present only moments.

"Wang ba dan!"

Ed didn't know what the word meant, but when he heard footsteps coming closer, he was pretty sure it wasn't something good. Ed shifted into a fighting stance as he heard them moving, his still-healing injuries protesting. All thoughts of support from Mustang went out the window, as the teenager quite suddenly became fully aware of his vulnerability. He couldn't punch and kick something he couldn't see, and he'd have to rely on touch and his hearing to-

"That's enough!"

Mustang…that was Mustang's voice. That hand on his shoulder again. Ed turned his head as if to glance at it, but a split second later remembered why that wasn't possible. He settled for glaring at the colonel until the hand moved. Even so, the alchemist was sullenly appreciative of the help, despite the fact Mustang had almost been too late to offer it.

Ed heard someone else move to stand beside him, whispering something to him. It was Tao Yin. "I apologize. They are not bad people, but…if men perceive difference, they often react with suspicion."

For his position close by Ed, Roy listened quietly, unable to help but think of Shui. Those accusing eyes…he had felt genuine animosity towards Ed, for no good reason. It made the colonel uncomfortable to think about it, especially when he noticed the boy only a few metres away, giving Edward the same look he'd given him that night…

"Then we should leave. Now." He said, his tone broking no argument. Ed was, for once, in full agreement with him.

"Be careful. The weather this time of year is treacherous, and you follow no road." She warned them.

"We'll make one." Roy said simply, unknowing echoing words Ed had once said himself.

She sounded somber "That may be. Take care, all the same."

The teenager heard her move away, and wondered if he should have said goodbye. But thanking people wasn't really something Ed was comfortable with doing, especially when he needed to go out of his way to do it. He stayed where he was, glancing in the direction he'd heard her footsteps go.

"I've got the supplies we need. As long as you don't mind walking, we can leave now." Ed noted that Mustang's tone was low. Obviously he was still worried about the Xingese nearby.

Ed grinned slightly. "As much as I enjoy using you as a pack mule, I think I can handle it on my own. Just don't lead me into a tree."

"I haven't yet." Mustang replied, that same infuriating smugness in his voice, although this time Ed didn't mind it as much. As long as Mustang was in good enough spirits to keep up witty banter, they couldn't be in that bad a situation.

---

'Wang ba dan' is err…we'll say the Chinese version of 'son of a bitch'. in Mandarin (?) Chinese. It basically translates to 'turtle's egg', implying that the victim's mother really gets around and…I'm not explaining this well. Wikipedia is your friend? (Also, thanks Pragmatical for pointing out my mistake!)

Again, I'm sorry this chapter was both EXTREMELY LATE and I had to cut it off before we got to the best part, but hey, it could be worse! I'm over my carpal, so expect the pace to pick up a bit! :)


	11. History Repeats Itself

**Author's Note:** GUESS WHO'S BACK! That's right, starting now _By Chance_ is returning to its regular monthly update schedule. And I'll be darned if I didn't miss this story just as much as you guys did! Leaving it alone for so long was really a pain, but I went through a period where I just couldn't write anything good for it at all. Believe me, you don't want to see my attempts to continue this during that time. -shudder-

Seriously, though, we're back. I mean that. :)

* * *

_**By Chance Or Changing Course**_

**Chapter Eleven: History Repeats Itself**

* * *

"How well do you know Roy, lieutenant?"

Riza delicately flipped to the next page of the tabloid, curbing the urge to turn and give Hughes a questioning look. She was normally as far removed from a tabloid-reader as she was a florist, but recently the first lieutenant had been obligated to play the part of the 'quiet, starry-eyed city girl' as long as she had an audience, as she did now.

"Well enough." She said, curious to see where Hughes was going with such a cryptic question but keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Conversations between the separate parties had become difficult to pull off on the crowded train, now that they knew they were being watched.

He laughed softly, turning a page of his own copy of the same tabloid, masking the sound of his amusement with the crinkle of paper. "Then I guess that makes two of us."

It was a risk they had to take, but although Riza was well-versed in the virtues of stealth and avoiding the prying eyes of civilians, she preferred to avoid them as much as she possibly could for fear of being found out. It was important that every conversations be short and to the point, to be more informative than a note slipped under a door (the usual agreed form of communication between them) and yet elaborate only when needed. Riza didn't have time to indulge Hughes with small talk, and to see a higher ranking officer disobeying that unspoken rule irritated her, however much she also believed he had a purpose behind the transgression.

"Get to the point, Hughes."

He sighed. "Alright, alright. But you can't blame me for trying to have some fun on this funeral procession of a rescue. My point is, I just heard from a very reliable source that he's…"

Riza waited for him to finish the sentence, but after roughly ten minutes had been sacrificed to his dramatic pause, her patience was growing thin. "_Hughes-_"

"…On vacation!"

For another ten minutes, the rattle of the moving train and mumble of the other passenger's discussions was the only noise to be heard in the dining compartment. The relative silence was interrupted momentarily by the piercing train whistle.

"On vacation." Riza repeated, vaguely noting that she had read the same sentence four times already.

"Yup." Hughes proceeded to turn another page, appearing thoroughly engrossed in an article about the rumored visitation of an esteemed Xingian diplomat, obviously reveling in the lack of decent plot development.

Riza had no choice but to cover her face with one hand. Eventually, she composed herself long enough to offer her thoughts on the matter. "It's been half a year since the last real update-"

"Uh huh."

"-Arktos has been finished school since June-"

"Mmhmm."

"-She has a weekly job that pays decently, renewed interest in the fandom, renewed interest in the _story_, and has conquered her writer's block-"

"Definitely."

"-And you're telling me that the twist ending is that he's on vacation?"

Hughes folded up the newspaper neatly, having finished it during the course of this exchange. "That's the long and short of it."

There was a pause, this time less out of dramatics than utter bafflement. Finally, Riza gathered the courage to ask the one question everyone wanted to know.

"Then the winter of 1903 was-"

"A cheap ploy to keep people reading." Hughes replied, shaking his head and gesturing wildly. "You've seen her profile. We could almost make a drinking game out of how many stories she's finished. Take a shot for every story that hasn't been updated in at least a month! Take two for how many she'll probably never finish!"

Another awkward silence descended on the pair of military officers, until Riza decided to announce her conclusion about the whole mess.

"…I hope this is a parody chapter."

"Without any fanservice? I doubt that."

Thankfully, Hughes doubted wrong, because at that moment Envy vowed never to kill another human being for fear of fangirl wrath.

* * *

Attention readers! Your regularly scheduled _By Chance_ should return within the week, including revisions on older chapters (but hey, no worries, you won't need to re-read them for plot changes. They'll just be ten-times better written.) and actual NEW chapters that will not be parodies.

Thanks for sticking with this story despite the ridiculously long hiatus!

-Arktos


	12. Broke my promise, another author's note?

_**By Chance Or Changing Course**_

**I'm continuing it, don't worry**.

I don't even know what to say guys, you sent me so many lovely reviews and I'm really, REALLY touched that people still like this story so much after such a long time. I got so excited I marathoned FMA:Brotherhood within the span of a week and went to see the only theatre playing _Star of Milos_ halfway across my city...but, of course, before and after that brief period of actually writing (I SWEAR, I HAVE STARTED WRITING IT) I seemed to get sick for long periods of time on three seperate occasions, culminating in the fact I've currently lost my voice.

I'm swamped under college and stuff, but rest assured, it WILL come out before SOPA, PIPA, ACTA or C-11 (A canadian bill) potentially makes fanfiction a dodgy thing to read/write. Give me TWO WEEKS, and I will be pretty much completely free to work on it! In the meantime I'll try to focus on it as well of course, but school and health come first. This story will return with **an update and all the chapters revised accordingly**.

Thank you so much! Every review and PM (and I do mean EVERY) gave me a much needed kick in the pants to get started again :)

-Arktos


End file.
